


Bound

by ILoveTeamFortressToo



Series: Blood Bond [3]
Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Gore, Healthy Relationships, M/M, New BLU Medic, No Rest For The Wicked - Freeform, Recovery, Supernatural Elements, Torture, Vampire AU, cross-faction, injuries, these guys just do not get a break
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-07-20 21:36:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 39,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16146011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ILoveTeamFortressToo/pseuds/ILoveTeamFortressToo
Summary: A new BLU Medic.A new enemy.A new kind of hell.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go again! :)

_ The next day, the new BLU Medic arrived. _

* * *

 

 

Sunday passed by slowly but not entirely unpleasantly. Spy stayed as long as he could before slipping off to his own base and none of Sniper's teammates bothered him too much.

That was, until RED Spy came knocking at his door.

'Yeah?' Sniper said, peering out of his van. When he saw it wasn't Scout,Medic or Soldier, he opened the door the rest of the way. 'Oh, Spy. Hello.' He hoped Spy wasn't going to ask him how he was because Sniper wasn't entirely sure of the answer himself.

'BLU's new Medic has just arrived.' RED Spy said, skipping the pleasantries.

'Oh,' Sniper said. Oh. 'Already?' He'd been sure it would be a week or two before they found a replacement Medic. Oh hell.

'Yes. He came in on the supply train a few minutes ago. I thought you should be the first to know.'

'Thanks.' The news hadn't sunk in yet. A new Medic. He'd have to face someone dressed in that same uniform just a couple of days after escaping hell.

 

BLU Spy heard the supply train go by but didn't connect it with a possible new teammate. He hadn't slept until very late last night and wasn't ready to leave his room. Then there was a kerfuffle in the base and, curious, he had to go see what was going on.

 

A new home, new people, new problems. The new Medic hated it. He'd been happy in the last place he'd settled down in. The job had been interesting, the pay good, his odd little extra experiment here and there unnoticed. Huge hospitals were good for that kind of thing. Pity it hadn't lasted.

And now he was here, caught up in some mysterious little war he'd only been told the barest bones about, and only after signing multiple waivers and contracts. It was all very strange. Hopefully it would prove to be interesting too.

A short man with goggles and a yellow hard hat had come to meet him out on the odd patch of concrete that functioned as a station here in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by mountains and pine trees.

The man had referred to  himself as 'Engineer' and led him towards their base of operations.

'Pyro', a strange little creature in a full body rubber suit had introduced themselves in a muffled, entirely incomprehensible way. Then a loud young man codenamed 'Scout' had come along, and then 'Soldier' had started shouting at him, something that was irritating, mildly alarming and apparently completely normal.

The new Medic wished they would all just leave him be to set up his equipment. He wasn't someone who exactly considered himself a 'people person.'

Spy watched the new Medic interacting with his teammates, hanging back. His thoughts were on Sniper. It would be tough for him to have to face a BLU Medic again so soon. Though he was watching the stranger, his mind was elsewhere.

A tall man introduced himself as 'Sniper' and then flicked a thumb back towards a man the new Medic had barely even notice enter the room. 'And that skinny bastard back there's Spy.'

Spy. What a ridiculous thing to be called. He looked the part though, in an over-dramatic way. Tailored suit, cigarette, balaclava.

To help himself gain more information from the one teammate so far who seemed reluctant to approach him, the new Medic opened his mouth slightly to help himself draw in 'Spy's' scent.

Ah. Now, _there_ was something interesting indeed.

Spy heard the Sniper say his name and gave the Medic a nod when he noticed him staring. Hopefully this one would be more sane than the last. Hopefully this one thought vampires were a myth. So far Heavy hadn’t come out to introduce himself. Spy had actually seen very little of him recently.

This Medic was looking at him with a keen interest now. Maybe it was because Spy was the only one not bothering him.

No longer interested in the man himself, but curious to get his hands on his file, Spy headed to the infirmary, where he knew the basic files were kept.

The new Medic watched Spy leave with keen eyes. Then a man stepped up and introduced himself as “the Demoman.” and Medic missed which direction the Spy left in.

No matter, there would be plenty of chance to get closer to him. Medic was their new doctor after all; he could arrange examinations. And anyway, they were going to be living together from now on. His prey didn't exactly have anywhere to go.

 

Spy had been certain he knew where the team files were in the infirmary, but they weren't where he remembered and he had to dig through the file cabinet in hopes that Miss Pauling had been here long enough to update everything. If not, he was wasting his time.

 

The new Medic had met everyone now, he could retire to his assigned quarters for the rest of the afternoon.

Well, he'd met almost everyone. That appealing Spy hadn't stayed around to chat unfortunately and apparently there was a large Russian man hiding around somewhere, but both could wait for another day.

Except, it looked as though the Spy had decided otherwise.

'Can I help you?' Medic said politely from the door to the infirmary. The Engineer had shown him the way there when he'd first arrived and he already felt possessive of the space.

Spy inwardly cursed himself. He hadn't expected the Medic would escape the team so quickly.

He lied, easily. "I wanted to introduce myself, once you'd had a chance to meet the rest of the team. I know they can be... boisterous." He held out his hand to shake.

The new Medic gave him a toothy smile and firm handshake.

He'd always preferred biting women where possible, but over the seventy or so years he'd been a vampire, he'd learnt to be much less picky.

He'd been eyeing up the athletic looking Scout as the most likely blood bank here, but despite the smell of cigarettes hinting that the Spy was a smoker (not a taste Medic usually liked in his victims), his blood itself had a rather appealing scent to it. Really, it was a surprise another vampire hadn't dragged him into an alleyway and drained him dry at some point.

'I'll be wanting to do a quick health check on every member of the team. Would you like to get yours out of the way?' he asked, not one to waste an opportunity.

Spy hid his grimace. He’d brought this on himself. “Of course.” Well, at least this way he could tell if this Medic was more normal, hopefully. The big smile was a little off, but otherwise he seemed alright so far.

'Don't worry, your last Medic kept very thorough records so there isn't much I need to go over. And no prostate exams! Apart from for your Sniper, apparently. But I'll cross that bridge when I get to it!' he gave Spy another cheerful grin.

'I just want to test your blood pressure, check your heart rate, listen to your breathing and take a little blood sample.' The last was the most important one. It was what he planned to use to confirm his preferred target, though he suspected he already knew what the results from that particular test would be.

Spy gritted his teeth. Of course, more blood samples. He sat on the table and unbuttoned his sleeve to roll it up. Poor BLU Sniper, that was going to be something.

'Take off your jacket and unbutton your shirt for me, please,' Medic said, fetching himself a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff from among the old Medic's supplies.

It was strange, really, that so much of his equipment had been left behind. Maybe when he'd retired he hadn't been able to keep anything that counted as BLU property.

Spy reluctantly did as he was asked, unbuttoning just the top few buttons on his shirt. Thankfully his mask covered the little mark left by Sniper’s last bite so he wouldn’t have to answer any awkward questions.

 

'Blood pressure seems fine,' Medic said once he'd finished with the cuff, jotting down a couple of extra notes for himself. 'I'll listen to your heart next.'

Medic had always enjoyed listening to the slight speeding up of a heartbeat that always seemed to come with putting a cold stethoscope to a person's chest. He enjoyed it even more when he didn't need the stethoscope to hear it, but it had been a while since he'd had a decent feed.

Medic had been a vampire seventy-two years now and only really needed to hunt every fortnight or so. He'd need to have something lined up by next week though, at the latest.

_Well, at least my blood pressures normal_ , Spy thought to himself. And he the rest of him should be pretty much back to normal with no venom in his system anymore. He couldn’t help the slightly flinch away from the cold stethoscope. “What do you think of the team, so far?” Spy asked. It was sort of nice to have someone newer to the team than he was.

'An...eclectic bunch,' the new Medic said diplomatically. 'I haven't met your Heavy Weapon's Guy yet though.'

“Yes, he’s been withdrawn lately,” Spy explained. Eclectic. What a kind way of putting it. They were insane. But somehow Spy fit in with them anyway, so he could hardly talk. As long as this Medic was tolerable and he could mostly ignore him, he would be happy.

Withdrawn? Well, Medic wasn't going to be the one to draw him out of his shell. Not unless Medic thought his blood had particular promise, that was.

'Right, I'm going to listen to your lungs. Take a deep breath through your mouth, hold it for three seconds and then breathe out through your nose,' he instructed.

Spy took in a slow breath, glad that this was nearly over. Just another moment with the cold stethoscope and then a blood sample and then he could retreat to his room for awhile. Even though he’d hardly had any blood taken over the last few days he still felt more tired than usual. But he had been feeding Sniper every day, and he was still recovering from the very long day that included working with the enemy and murdering the previous Medic.

He breathed out through his nose, trying to clear his head. It felt strange and intimate to be thinking about Sniper while someone was listening to his heart and lungs.

'Hmm, seems fine,' Medic said, feeling a little disappointed. He'd expected the smoking to have damaged the Spy's lungs more than it sounded like it had. Must be something to do with this 'medigun' and 'respawn technology’ he'd been told about.

Being this close to the Spy made Medic's jaw ache. Would anyone know if he just sunk his teeth in now? Just a little nip?

Medic resisted. He needed to choose his target carefully. As much as he was the predator here, his prey could become dangerous if they flocked together to try and defend themselves.

'Just need that blood sample now,' he assured the Spy.

“Fine,” he rolled up his sleeve all the way, making a fist. Hopefully this Medic wouldn’t compliment his veins.

Medic wiped a sterilising swab across the inside the crook of Spy's arm. 'You have good veins,' he said cheerfully.

_Every time._

Spy watched as the Medic slid the needle in. At this point, he was the opposite of squeamish. He was glad the Medic couldn’t hear his heartbeat now, because the familiar needle-prick felt like Sniper’s teeth and his heartbeat picked up.

'There we go,' Medic said. He'd got to be very good at drawing blood, even from the most troublesome of patients and veins. The Spy had proved to be neither.

Spy put a little pressure on the spot, but the bleeding stopped quickly. “Are we done, then?”

'Yes we are. Thank you for your cooperation. Now I just need to wrangle another seven mercenaries in here!' He probably would leave the rest until tomorrow and spend a little more time working out where everything in his new infirmary was.

Then, once he had all his blood samples he would, well, sample them, and pick the most suitable target from amongst them.

“I’ll see you at battle,” Spy slid off his table and headed out to his room, happy to have some time to himself for at least a little while.

As soon as the Spy turned his back, Medic's eyes turned predatory. Maybe he'd have that one even if he chose a different teammate to be his main victim. If things went well enough, maybe Medic could take a bite out of all of them. And maybe even some of the enemy team too.

 


	2. Chapter 2

The first time Sniper saw the new BLU Medic it felt like being punched in the chest.

They weren't the same men. A second glance and that was obvious. But at first glance, all Sniper saw was the uniform. And that was all it took. He put his rifle down and closed his eyes tight. He pinched the bridge of his nose, skewing his glasses, and just concentrated on breathing.

It was fine.

It wasn't the same Medic.

This one wasn't dangerous. Well, no more than anybody else wielding a bonesaw and a syringe gun.

It would never happen again.

Everything was fine.

 

Sniper spent all week telling himself that, avoiding looking at the enemy Medic wherever possible.

Every time he did though, something would twist inside him. Something cold and angry and hopeless that he had no name for and no way of expressing.

All Sniper knew was that this might not be the same Medic as the one who tortured him, but he still hated the guy.

 

Spy kept a careful watch on his new teammate over the first week. He mostly kept to himself and did his work well, but Spy couldn't help but be suspicious. He kept an eye on Sniper too, sure that having a new BLU Medic would throw his lover off. He seemed to do well, though, his numbers were still a little low but not dangerously so.

 

Though seeing the new BLU Medic continued to make him uncomfortable, Sniper preferred the battles to the downtime. During matches everyone was too busy to pay him any extra attention. Outside the battlefield though, most of his teammates acted either too nice or too nosy for comfort.

His story (or a version of it) came out in bits of pieces in an attempt to get the team to leave him alone. Medic especially was carefully persistent, never pushing too far but always pushing.

Sniper made it sound as though it could have been any of them, as though he'd just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The rest if the REDs could accept that the BLU Medic would have been willing to do something so cruel with so little motivation. They accepted his explanation and quietly thanked their lucky stars that it hadn't been them.

  
  


Spy, for his part, tried his best to visit Sniper when he could, but during the week he couldn’t manage to sneak away. He was still wary of Heavy figuring out that Sniper and him weren’t exactly enemies. And after battle he rarely had the energy to sneak off and sneak back, all the while avoiding both teams. He tried not to admit it to himself, but he was excited for the weekend; he wanted to spend more time with Sniper, especially now that he would be feeling a little better, after having returned to his routine. There was still so much unexplored between the two of them and it sent a thrill through him to think of it.

 

Sniper missed Spy during the week, and not just because of his blood. It still felt weird to acknowledge that the only person he felt comfortable talking to about this stuff was the enemy Spy. It was the opposite way to which the world should work, but it was true.

Sniper couldn't wait for the weekend to come.

 

The BLU Medic, however, had a wonderful week. He'd never seen so much blood and gore and destruction. Sure, it wasn't fun when it was  _ his _ blood and gore and destruction, but the rest of the time it was fascinating! The Medic didn't see how he could ever go back to working in a mundane hospital after this. Maybe next he would have to get himself into the army. Medic had always avoided it for fear of exposing himself but he was a mature enough vampire to find himself coping with the situation without draining everything in sight.

That said, he might have risked a few free samples. However, respawn, while fascinating, had a habit of stealing his meals away far too quickly to be satisfying. He wanted the real thing.

Medic's money was still on the Spy. He'd taken blood samples from every teammate now, even the taciturn and moody Heavy Weapons Guy. His blood had been pleasant, but oh how much sweeter the Spy's had been.

 

Once the end of Friday’s battle came, Spy, relieved and exhausted, headed over to Sniper’s after a shower and a change of clothes. It was hard to believe he missed someone this much.

When he got to Sniper’s camper he listened, circled it, looking for any REDs besides his RED, and then knocked.

Sniper opened the door. There was no one there. 'Spy?' he asked hopefully.

Spy stepped up, uncloaking as he did and pressing a little kiss to Sniper’s cheek. “Who else?”

Sniper couldn't help the pleased grin that spread across his face. 'I don't know, maybe someone really short. Could have been Engie and I just hadn't looked down far enough.'

Spy snorted, laughing. “I hope you don’t tell him that to his face, he doesn’t seem like a man with a sense of humour about that.”

'Good point, good point, that,' Sniper said. 'I'd probably get a wrench to the head.'

Spy closed and locked the door. It might be enemy territory but he was really starting to like this camper.

Sniper smiled to himself. If Spy wanted privacy, he might like Sniper's suggestion. 'Want to go for a drive?' he asked.

"Oh?" This was new. "Where to?"

'Oh, a great place I know,' Sniper said with a smile. Then, realising his and the Spy's idea of a “great place” were probably completely different, he added, 'I mean, it's nowhere fancy. It's not-uh, it's not a proper place. Just a nice place.' That still wasn't helping. 'It's in the woods.’

Spy laughed at Sniper’s awkward half-explanations, but nodded. “Alright. I suppose I locked the door for nothing, then.” He unlocked it and opened the door again. “What’s so great about this place in the woods?

'Oh, no, I mean, you have to drive there. So we do need the door properly shut. Unless you'd like to walk?' It wasn't a real suggestion. Spy and hiking through the woods were two things Sniper thought probably didn't belong together.

 

Once they were settled in the cab, Spy leaned against the window, watching Sniper behind the wheel of his camper. He seemed to be doing better. He looked comfortable, at least.

Sniper had never really noticed the cracked leather on that corner of the passenger seat. Or all those old receipts on the dashboard. Or the empty beer can on the floor. It wasn't _ that _ bad in the cab though, right? Just maybe not tidy enough to impress your… your… whatever Spy was to Sniper. Sniper still wasn't a hundred percent sure on that front. It didn't bother him though. Whatever they had was good.

'It's only about half an hour's drive,' he promised. 'Won't take long.'

"That's fine." Spy put a gloved hand on Sniper's thigh. "How have you been doing, with our new Medic?"

The hand on Sniper’s thigh was distracting, but in a good way. The question, however, almost made him swerve off the road as he steered away from the base.

'Medic?' he squawked. 'Oh, yes. The Medic. Well, haven't seen much of the bloke to be honest.' Not a good thing for a sniper who should have eyes everywhere. 'Just...unsettles me a bit, you know? Not given you any problems, has he?'

“Non, he seems normal enough. I had an exam with him and he didn’t set off any alarm bells.” Spy pretended he didn’t hear the squeak in Sniper’s voice. “I’m sure seeing the uniform was a little unsettling. I wasn’t exactly keen on it myself.”

'What, did you tell him he couldn't wear those gloves with that tie?' Sniper joked.

“Very funny,” Spy said drily. At least Sniper had his sense of humour back. He kept his hand still on Sniper, not wanting to distract him from driving, just wanting to touch him. It was comforting.

Twenty minutes later, Sniper turned off the main road and down a track through the forest. 'This is where it gets bumpy,' he warned Spy. His van could cope with it but the suspension wasn't the best anymore.

“If I didn’t already know you were a vampire this is where I might get suspicious about you,” Spy teased him. Really, after learning that deer made him horny, there was nothing more embarrassing he could learn about Sniper.

'If you go down to the woods today...' Sniper said in a sing-song voice. 'You might get bitten by a vampire... No, that doesn't fit.'

Spy leaned closer and flicked his ear gently. Sniper had a nice voice, even if he was just being silly. “Well, I might, but only if I care to,” he grinned. “Did you find this place while hunting?”

'Yep! Just stumbled on it when I went on one of my longer hunts. The rest of the team won't be surprised to see my van gone; I do this every now and then.'

“Good to know.” Spy pulled off his mask. They were deep enough in the woods that his face being bare to the world felt safe. Maybe one of these days he’d take off his gloves too, he thought, looking out his window as they bumped along the little path.

'It was a good hunt that,' Sniper said, before trailing away as he remembered first the whole deer thing, and second,  _ telling  _ Spy about it. Embarrassing. Hopefully Spy had forgotten about that.

Another ten minutes passed, the road getting worse and the forest closing in on either side of them. Branches scraped against the side of his van as Sniper drove on but he didn't care; the old girl was scratched and dented anyway. Both of them wore battle wounds.

The sun was rapidly setting and it was getting darker, but Sniper seemed to know where they were going so Spy relaxed in the cab. He remembered following Sniper out here, that once. It seemed like much longer ago than it really was. He must have seemed so obvious to Sniper, stumbling around in the woods after him. Like a rabbit hunting a fox, he hid a little smile at the thought.

 

'Nearly there,' Sniper said five minutes later. Then another couple of minutes later, 'Okay, now we're nearly there.' Five minutes more. 'Okay, so that tree stump is definitely familiar!'

“Are we lost?” Spy couldn’t help but laugh.

'Nope,' Sniper said cheerfully. 'We really are almost there! Promise!'

“I suppose I have no choice but to trust you, since by now I’m sure I’m lost.” Spy remarked.

'Oh yeah, if I dumped you here, you'd never make it back to civilisation alive!' Sniper said with a grin.

Spy gave him a thoroughly unamused look.

'Ah, here we go!' Sniper said, ignoring him.

The forest finally opened up into a meadow glade, a slim river cut deep into the bedrock winding across it. Moths fluttered by the van as evening drew closer, the setting sun bathing everything in a warm, sepia light.

Spy got out of the cab after giving Sniper’s leg a squeeze. It really was beautiful here, and nice and private. They could just sit outside with no worrying about teammates seeing them.

Spy took off his jacket and tie, leaving them in the cab along with his mask. “I can see why you like it here."

'I love listening to the river,' Sniper said. 'There's just something...calming about it. I'm going to have to bring out the insect repellent though for this time of day or we're going to end up miserable.'

Spy nodded, winding an arm around Sniper’s waist. He was feeling particularly needy tonight and this seemed the best way to not openly admit it; snuggling close and saying very little about it. Even though he was still sure they wouldn’t, _ couldn’t _ , last, he wanted to enjoy what they had while it lasted. He wanted to let himself have it, while he could.

Sniper wrapped his arm around Spy in return, giving him an affectionate squeeze. 'Right, better get things set up,' he said, pulling away reluctantly. Later. They had all the time in the world.

Sniper parked up his van across a horseshoe bend in the river. A charred circle on the thin soil over the rock marked where his last camp fire had been. He built it back up ready to light, pulled the awning on his van out over it, and dragged out two folding chairs. There were two oil-filled lamps in his van that be brought out and hooked onto the ends of the awning. He lit them, infusing the fresh, earthy smell of the forest with the scent of mint and lemon, perfect for keeping mosquitoes at bay.

To be on the safe side, Sniper sprayed bug repellent in the areas he thought Spy was least likely to kiss later: his hair, legs, lower back and forearms. Sniper knew from experience that the bug repellent tasted foul. He'd once accidentally sprayed it in his mouth.

He handed the can over to Spy and said, 'almost done.' It probably wasn't the Spy's usual kind of fancy location but it was pulling together to be a rather pleasant location to spend the evening.

Spy mimicked Sniper's precautions, spraying himself a little. He sat himself in one of the beaten up old folding chairs and took a slow breath. It was nice to just be somewhere, not doing anything, just existing with Sniper.

Sniper brought out a bag of giant marshmallows and two long metal skewers with wooden handles. He held them up triumphantly, a huge grin on his face. If toasting marshmallows over an open fire wasn't an appropriate activity for a professional assassin, Sniper made no signs of being aware of it.

Spy laughed, but assisted with the skewering of the marshmallows. He hadn't done this since he was young. He left most of the details to the one who knew what he was doing. Not what Spy would usually imagine for a date but, it was nice.

Sniper lit the fire. He cheated slightly, using a tiny bit of fuel to help get it going. He'd have to keep feeding it more small branches to keep it going until it could burn up some of the larger bits and pieces he'd gathered from the nearby woods.

Sniper accepted a skewer off Spy with three marshmallows on it and held it over the fire. All three of them were pink. Spy was bound to have done that on purpose but there wasn't much a guy could say about it when it was his male lover giving them to him.

Spy gave him an innocent smile, which slowly turned into a far softer smile when Sniper started to focus on toasting his marshmallows. "Is this usually what you do to take someone out? Go camping?" It wasn't much of a surprise coming from him.

'Uhhh,' Sniper had to stop and think about it for a minute. He scratched the back of his neck. 'Well, not sure if I ever have done to be honest. I mean, there was times I went out camping with mates I had a crush on and there a couple of times with Jenny who I think looking back on it might have had a crush on  _ me _ , but I guess... Guess I've never really done any camping stuff with someone I was 'taking out.'

 

How was the Sniper so damnably cute? Talking about crushes as though he weren’t a grown man, who worked as a mercenary. Spy put his own marshmallows over the fire. His were all blue. Sniper’s were pink, yes, but he’d thought of it more as their team colours than anything. And they didn’t taste any different, he was sure. Just like sugar.

A thought occurred to him and it was out of his mouth before he could stop it. “Have you ever fallen for a woman?”

Sniper hunched his shoulders, staring at his marshmallows as he slowly rotated them. 'Not done much of the whole 'falling' thing to be honest. I don't really know where you draw the line to tell. I've had a damn good fuck or two with women and I've had sheilahs in my life who've meant a hell of a lot to me but I'm not sure if the two have ever really crossed over.'

Spy nodded. "I know the feeling." Not that he was much for relationships in general but when he did, they were generally good friends more than they were 'in love'. Even if people meant a lot to him, it was hard to trust and that meant it was hard to stay with anyone. It was nice to know he wasn't the only one.

Now there was a surprise. Not that Spy stood out as the lovey-dovey type, more that he was so...easy to love. The realisation hit Sniper like a punch to the chest. He sneaked a sideways glance at the man next to him, face unmasked and vulnerable for Sniper and no one else.

For a murderer and a villain and an enemy, the BLU Spy really was an easy man to fall in love with. Sniper hadn't even noticed it happen.

He shifted in his chair, turning all his focus back to his now rather crispy marshmallows.  _ Love.  _ Hah! What an idea.

Something about it terrified him.

Spy pulled his marshmallows back and blew them out. They were a little blacker than he'd have liked but they'd do. He pulled off his glove so he wouldn't get it sticky, pulling the toasty outside of the marshmallow off to eat it, putting the gooey centre back over the fire. Sniper had gone quiet at Spy's response and he was happy to let the quiet drag on.

Sniper hissed in a breath as gooey marshmallow centre oozed over his fingers. 'Damn it,' he muttered. 'I can't even marshmallow properly.' Or talk, apparently.

Despite that, the slightly burnt crispy shells tasted delicious. He toasted the insides too, though with slightly less success and slightly more burns to his fingertips in his impatience.

'Pass me some more, will you?' Sniper asked. 'Haven't had marshmallows in years.'

Spy was done after three, but gladly passed the bag to his... friend. Partner?

"Still edible," he teased. "It takes some doing to make a marshmallow inedible."

Sniper picked out another couple of marshmallows. White ones this time. He watched them carefully as he turned them over, flames licking up. Every now and then though, he'd snatch a glance sideways at Spy. He had a very handsome profile. It was something Sniper had noted a long time ago. Back when they were enemies, in fact. He just hadn't let himself give it much thought at the time.

The fire crackled as Sniper pulled his toasted marshmallows out. A branch cracked and fell, sending up a puff of sparks. Just below the sound of the fire, Sniper could hear the gentle gurgle of the river.

It was beautiful out here. And so was the Spy, warm light flickering over his bare face and dark hair.

Spy could feel the tension leaving his body. It was so nice to be out, away from both bases and their loud teammates.

Sniper kept stealing glances at him. Spy finally caught him at it and gave him a little smile. He wished their chairs were a little closer, but he could still reach out and snag Sniper's hand with his.

Sniper gave him an embarrassed little grin and accepted Spy's hand. He ran his thumb across the back of Spy's knuckles as he ate a marshmallow, wondering idly why Spy always kept his gloves on. Well, one at least. He'd seen the other hand was bare while Spy had been eating a blue marshmallow.

Sniper's thumb pad caught just slightly on an unexpected ridge just before the knuckle on one of Spy's fingers. He frowned in confusion, running his thumb back over it and noticing the same edge on Spy's smallest finger, but not his middle one.

Spy felt Sniper run his fingers over the prosthetics and his chest tightened anxiously. He slipped his hand back out of Sniper's grip. He hadn't noticed so far, he'd been so good at letting Spy keep his secrets secret.

Sniper allowed Spy to pull away, wondering what he'd done wrong. Did Spy just have much bonier hands than he'd realised and felt self-conscious about them? Maybe it was a French thing.

'Sorry,' Sniper said, to cover whatever mistake he'd just made.

Spy felt an immediate stab of guilt at Sniper’s apology. He dropped his hands into his lap, looking down at them; one gloved, one bare. Fuck, this was one of the few scars he hated, the ugly loss of his fingers. They still ached sometimes and only keeping the prosthetics and gloves on let him pretend there was nothing wrong with them.

Still. He’d seen so much of Sniper. Did he really need to worry about hiding from him? What could he even show him that would disgust him. He’d seen Sniper tortured, nearly dead. He’d seen him turn into something completely inhuman.

Fuck.

Spy picked at his glove for a moment, heart in his throat, before pulling the glove off, and offering his hand back to Sniper.

'Oh,' Sniper said, taking Spy's hand again. He found himself staring at the two fingers that ended abruptly, his brain insisting that there should be something  _ more _ there than there actually was.

'Ohhh,' so that explained why the Spy had always kept one glove on. Sniper couldn't believe he'd never noticed.

'Knew a man back in Australia with a missing finger on one hand,' Sniper said quietly. 'He ran a zoo. Had all sorts of animals. Crocs, wolves, lions, eagles, vultures. And do you know what it was that bit off his finger? A Labrador.'

Spy snorted. People really did underestimate dogs. As someone who’d dealt with guard dogs more than once in his life, Spy was distrustful of them.

Sniper ran his thumb over the back of Spy's knuckles again. He really hadn't been expecting this. Spy was such a sleek looking man, his two damaged fingers looked out of place on him, even with the prosthetics. No wonder he kept them hidden.

But he'd taken the glove off.

He'd let Sniper see.

That was...that was really something.

A great wave of affection swelled up in Sniper's chest. He tugged Spy's hand closer to himself and kissed the back of each knuckle.

Spy found a similar wave of affection nearly drowning him. It had been a long time since anyone had seen his prosthetics; he was very careful with them. Even if he knew the loss of a few fingers was a fairly common injury, it was far easier to track down a man with eight fingers than a man with ten.

“I won’t take it off all the time,” he warned Sniper. “But now you know.”

Sniper nodded, understanding perfectly. Just because you were able to display a vulnerability to someone once, it didn't mean you always wanted it exposed.

'I've seen your arse, about time I saw your hands too,' he said with a cheeky wink to lighten the mood.

Spy laughed. As awkward as he could be, Sniper seemed to know just what to say. Spy let him keep hold of his hand, taking a slow breath. “It… it goes with the scar behind my ear. Same day. Same people.”

Ah, another little piece of Spy's past that Sniper never expected to be given.

'Must have been a damn bad day,' Sniper said, heart going out to Spy's younger self in a way he didn't think possible of himself. Killing people for a living and empathy were two things that didn't usually go hand in hand.

“It was a bit rough,” Spy said lightly. “But a long time ago now.” He squeezed Sniper’s hand, all too aware of how the prosthetics bent like fingers, both familiar and strange at the same time.

'I'm dating a cyborg,' Sniper joked, and then shut his mouth again as quick as possible. Dating. Were they dating? How did you tell? Weren't they kind of on a date right now? Was this dating? Probably, Sniper decided. Hopefully.

The cyborg comment hit first and Spy scoffed, and then the dating part sunk in and he couldn't help the warmth that settled nicely in his chest. "Is this a date, then?" Spy asked, standing and moving his chair right up alongside Sniper's.

'Well, I don't just invite any old person along camping with me!' Sniper reminded him in a gruff voice to try and cover up his embarrassment.

He took Spy's hand again once they'd settled close, forearm pressed against his.

'We can go back into the camper in a minute if you want. Easier to get close in there.'

"That would be nice," Spy nodded, twining his fingers with Sniper's and leaning his head on his shoulder.

Sniper took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of the forest around them and the scent of the Spy leaning against him. He'd been lucky, so lucky that despite their rocky start, things had turned out all right for them. Sniper didn't know how, but they had.

'Good stars out tonight,' he said, looking up at the sky. It wasn't yet entirely dark but a vista of stars was already twinkling above them. Sniper always missed seeing the stars when he was cooped up in a building overnight or trapped in a city.

Somehow they'd ended up here, holding hands under the stars. After everything. Being assigned to kill each other. Sniper biting him. Medic discovering that he was a vampire.

Spy was glad they'd gotten through it, that they could just sit here and hold hands under the stars like a pair of teenagers. Spy looked up at the stars with Sniper. It had been a long time since he'd simply sat outside and enjoyed the view.

Sniper seemed to be in his element like this, out in the world with only his camper. Spy never thought he'd enjoy that kind of life but maybe he could be convinced.

Despite it being Sniper's suggestion, he only made a move to get up when his back started to protest from sitting back for too long. These camping chairs did nothing to support his aching back. He reluctantly let go of Spy's hand and stood to stretch up, spine cracking as he did so.

'It's not as bad as it sounds, mate, promise,' he said.

Spy stood to follow, making a sympathetic sound at the crack of Sniper's spine. "I'm sure you won't protest a massage anyway," he suggested.

'Ooh!' Sniper said, not managing to hide his enthusiasm in the slightest. 'Hey, you scratch mine, I'll scratch yours,' he said, with an equally unsubtle wink.

Spy laughed, pushing Sniper inside and following right behind him, wrapping his arms around the thin man's waist and standing as tall as he could to kiss the back of Sniper's neck.

'Oi, that tickles,' Sniper said, aiming for a gruff tone but failing entirely. He pulled away from Spy just enough to reach down and tug his shirt off, Spy's offer of a back massage at the front of his mind. There were other ideas floating around in there too, but the massage currently felt like his top priority.

Spy nudged him to lay face down down on the bed, straddling his narrow hips and digging his thumbs in just under Sniper's shoulder blades. Slowly, he kneaded at the knots he found there, trying to loosen them.

"Let me know if it's too much or too little," he requested.

Sniper hummed in agreement, letting his muscles relax. Anytime Spy did something something especially good, he'd hum again. Some points were tender but he didn't make a fuss; those were probably the areas that needed this the most.

'Hmm, that's good, right there,' Sniper said as Spy curled his fingers around his collarbone. 'Gets stiff when I spend too long holding my rifle.'

"I'm sure," Spy said, sympathetically. He could gradually feel Sniper's muscles loosening and relaxing as he worked. He leaned down to press a kiss to any spots that seemed particularly sore. He went back and forth between gentle strokes over the tender skin and working hard at the tense muscle.

Sniper sighed happily. 'Knew there was a reason I kept you around,' he said with a toothy grin that was lost in his pillow.

"Oh, is that all you keep me around for?" Spy scoffed. "And here I thought I was handsome and charming." He dug his fingernails in a little and scratched gently over his back.

'No, it's – oof! Okay, so it's definitely for  _ that! _ '

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obligatory fade to black


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To everyone who was enjoying the much-deserved softer moments between these two: Our apologies

 

Spy woke up the next morning covered in blankets, with one of Sniper's long arms holding him close. He was happy to just lay there in the dappled sunlight and be held by his lover. He dozed off and on through the morning.

Sniper slept solidly on through, his body still taking every opportunity to catch up on missed sleep. If he had any nightmares, they were forgotten by the time he awoke.

'Mornin,' he said with a yawn, covering his mouth with one hand.

'Urgh, my arm's dead,' he grumbled, trying to wiggle the other currently wrapped around Spy.

"Sorry," Spy shuffled off his arm, laying a little further from Sniper. Their bed was warm and cozy compared to the cool air outside. He didn't want to get up yet. It was just so nice here.

'Forgot to brush my teeth last night.' Somehow that seemed like an important thing to mention. Or at least, to warn Spy about. Then again, Spy hadn't brushed his teeth either.

He leant over Spy to grab a glass of water from the counter by the table. He drank half and offered the rest to Spy.

"Thank you," Spy chuckled. Sniper had never worried about that before when he'd slept over. Still, the water was nice and helped wake him up. He put the glass down and traced his fingers over the hickeys he'd left on Sniper last night with a hint of a grin.

Sniper shivered involuntarily at the touch. 'Oi, that tickles!' he groused, though he really didn't mind.

"You want me to stop?" Spy leant down to kiss one of the big red marks he'd left.

'Since when did I say that?' Sniper replied, trying to stifle a smile and keep up the grumpy attitude.

"I only wanted to be sure," Spy teased.

Sniper sighed. It was a happy sigh. A contented one. Then he remembered something he'd said last night and felt his face flush.

Things had become heated between. Overwhelming, almost, but in the best of ways. And all Sniper could think about was how much he adored this man. How much it meant to him to have someone who knew he wasn’t human and still cared for him. How much it meant to be rescued from the last BLU Medic by him. How wonderful and handsome and talented this man was and—

And—

He’d said it.

‘I love you.’

He’d said it.

Spy hadn’t said it back but Sniper told himself it didn’t matter. Spy had probably missed it somehow. Or if he hadn’t, maybe he’d forgotten about it now. Or something. It was fine.

 

Unaware of Sniper’s inner turmoil, Spy stroked his fingers through Sniper's hair, just marvelling in every touch. It would be so easy to tell Sniper he loved him, to let this get dangerously out of hand. But he wouldn't. He couldn't.

They really had come far though, the two of them.

Sniper pulled Spy closer. He looked forward to seeing where life would lead them next.

 

BLU Medic had been looking forward to a proper bite to eat since he joined the team at the start of the week. However, when the weekend came around and he set out to hunt down his target, the BLU Spy proved elusive. At first, Medic was curious, then frustrated, then down-right fed-up. He'd set his heart on sinking his fangs into the one member of his team who appeared to have gone AWOL.

After questioning the rest of the team innocently over their missing Spy, he discovered that it wasn't all that unusual for Spy to disappear off into the nearest town for part of the weekend.

Medic claimed he needed to go pick up some supplies he hadn't been able to bring with him so he could go searching for Spy, but had no luck. Especially when his team's Engineer insisted on going with him. Medic would have just bitten him instead if Pyro hadn't decided to come along for the ride as well. Vampire or not, that thing still intimidated him.

Medic decided to wait it out after that, immersing himself in medical textbooks and writing notes for himself.

 

He didn't see Spy again until breakfast time on Monday.

'Had a nice weekend?' he asked Spy casually over a bowl of painfully bland muesli.

Spy was almost startled by the casual conversation. Most of the team didn't bother with him.

"Fine," he said, boredly, as though he hadn’t had a wonderful time. And collected several hickeys as proof.

'Is there anything interesting to do in town? It seemed a little drab to me I'll be honest, but you were gone...all weekend, I think? So there must be something there worth doing,' Medic said with an easy smile. Then he paused thoughtfully. 'Or someone.'

If Medic had had enough fresh blood recently, he probably would have been able to tell by scent alone if Spy had spent his weekend with anyone.

Spy chuckled, "If there is someone worth doing, I'm not about to share," he said slyly. "But it was an enjoyable weekend." It felt daring to talk about Sniper and him, as though even mentioning him might give them away.

Medic gave him an easy, amused smile. He hoped Spy's thoughts of his girlfriend or one night stand or prostitute would keep him distracted because Medic wasn't sure how much longer he could resist biting him.

Maybe not at the breakfast table.

But maybe...

Maybe out there in the chaos of the battle. Just a little top-up to keep Medic going.

 

Soon enough they were out on the field and Spy felt he was in top form. He was after the enemy Medic and stuck to him each time he respawned.

 

Sniper felt a little guilty about it, but he enjoyed watching his Spy out on the battlefield, even when he stabbed Sniper's teammates. Or especially, in the case of poor Medic. Sniper didn't hold any personal grudges against him, but to was still oddly cathartic to see him die.

Sniper thought that perhaps that pointed towards some kind of deep-seated psychological issue, but who was he going to see about it, Medic?

It was even more cathartic to kill the enemy Medic, but that was proving hard to do. Especially when every time, Sniper's hands would start racing painfully in his chest, his hands shaking so bad he could hardly make the shot. It was bloody annoying.

 

Spy was finally, viciously put through respawn by the RED Heavy. He was still feeling fairly optimistic as the match came to a close. He'd done so well. Being in a good mood had done wonders.

 

Medic had been patient, oh so patient, as he waited for the last half an hour of the match to come around. From what he'd seen, Spy had been performing excellently all day. If he happened the miss this last little bit of the match, surely no one would notice?

Medic waited until Spy was a little way from respawn, and away from the other mercenaries. Being a Spy made him an easy target, in a way, as he kept away from the front lines until it was time to strike them from behind.

It isolated Spy. Separated him from the herd.

'Oh, Spy! Spy!' Medic called out in a low voice, leaning against the door-frame of the building he'd watched Spy enter a couple of minutes ago. His coat was torn and covered in blood. Very little of it was his own, but Medic was a good actor. He could easily put on the act of a wounded teammate looking for an ally.

Spy perked up at his Medic's voice, calling for him. There was quite a bit of blood spattered on him but it was hard to tell if he was hurt.

"Are you alright?" he trotted over, reaching out to take the man's elbow to support him.

'Ah, I'm fine, fine, really!' Medic said, flapping a hand at Spy but leaning heavily on him at the same time. 'I just need a minute, then I'll be back to it,' he promised breathlessly. 'Soldier got himself blown up,' he said. Which was true, and also the source of most of the blood.

 

In a nearby building, Sniper frowned to himself and shook his head like a spaniel with waterlogged ears. Something...

Something was bothering him, putting him on edge. Sniper would have blamed it on his days of confinement if there hadn't been something different about this compared to his usual unsettled periods. Sniper scanned the area, trying to work out what was wrong. Peering into one building, his eyes alighted on first his Spy, and then the BLU Medic.

Dread twisted in his gut and clamped a vice around his gut.

Something was wrong.

_ Something. _

Sniper tried for a moment to persuade himself that he just didn't like seeing a man who wore the same clothes as his torturer anywhere near his partner, but it was more than that. Something deeper. Something more instinctive.

A second later and he was charging down the stairs two at a time, kukri and rifle lying forgotten behind him.

 

Spy drew Medic deeper into the building, to keep him safe. He was starting to like this Medic; he was more companionable than most of his teammates. And willing to ask for help too, which was a plus in Spy's mind. He helped him lean against the back wall.

"I could get a medikit?" he offered.

'I think I'll be alright, but thank you for the offer. This medigun's passive healing abilities are quite incredible. It feels like there might be a bit of shrapnel from the enemy Demo's... uh, “sticky bombs?” stuck in the back of my shoulder though, could you have a look?' Medic asked, gingerly shrugging off the medigun pack.

Spy nodded, though he wasn't sure how much help he would actually be. He helped Medic with his heavy pack and then tried to help him out of his coat.

 

Sniper charged across the battlefield, ignoring the confused Heavy who turned to watch him go, not even noticing him fall dead a moment later thanks to the enemy Sniper.

It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. He just had to get there.

 

'Thank you,' Medic said, looking Spy directly in the eyes. 'Everything is fine,' he continued. 'Everything is as it should be. I am your ally, you have no need to fight me.' He pressed the words into Spy in a way that a human couldn't be able to understand. Or a vampire who couldn't mesmerise.

Spy looked mildly surprised again, as he had at breakfast, but the next expression across his face was blandly agreeable. “Of course,” he agreed. He felt a strange emptiness, a lack of that fighting spirit that had filled him all day. He was tired and done with the day. Medic was his ally and everything was fine. He had no need to fight at all if Medic was here.

'Good, good,' Medic said. He didn't like continued eye contact with his meals once he'd mesmerised them. It wasn't because it showed him they were living, thinking human beings, but because it left them with dull eyes that reminded him of cattle.

He also stopped speaking, wordlessly shrugging out of his coat and grasping hold of Spy where he stood. Medic tipped Spy's head to one side and dragged the hem of his mask from out under his shirt. Ridiculous, impractical thing. Just another hassle for Medic to deal with.

He was just about to sink his fangs in when someone burst into the room.

 

Sniper charged through the door frame and came to an abrupt stop a couple of meters away from Medic and Spy. His chest rose and fell heavily as he gasped, 'Get off him! He's mine!'

Medic pushed Spy away, letting him fall rather limply to his knees. The Sniper was out of breath, clearly he’d bolted here from across the battlefield. Medic hadn’t been close enough to him before to realize what he was. Another vampire. Unsurprising, here, it was an easy way to find prey on the battlefield and safer than an actual battlefield.

He smirked across at the Sniper. “Don’t be ridiculous, there’s no venom in his blood.”

_ Another vampire. Another vampire. Here. _

A loner. Or at least, Sniper better pray to God that he was. If a clan was about to descend on the battlefield, Sniper was doomed.

But one was bad enough. Sniper couldn't explain how he knew but he got a feel of...age. Maturity. Danger, from this vampire.

This vampire about to bite his mate.

'He's mine!' Sniper snapped again, anxiety crawling up and down his spine. Spy. Was Spy alright? Why wasn't he moving? Why wasn't he fighting? Medic hadn't bitten him yet, there was no blood around his mouth at all, just on his shirt.

'What have you done to him?' Sniper took a step forward, trying to intimidate. He was the taller of the two of them. The angrier. He had to make that count for something.

The younger vampire postured like a scared cat puffs up in front of a dog. And he had no idea why ‘his’ Spy had completely surrendered. He must be unable to mesmerize.

“He’s mine,” the Medic said firmly, far calmer than Sniper. “I’m giving you one chance. Get out.”

Sniper's instincts shouted at him to turn and run with his tail between his legs. The Medic was obviously the older and more experienced of the two of them.

Apex hunters like vampires avoided fighting with each other too often if they could. The chances of damaging each other enough to harm their hunting abilities was too high. All it would take was an eye wound to take out their ability to mesmerise, or a blow to the mouth to snap a fang.

Mesmerise...

That's what the enemy vampire had done.

Mesmerised Spy. Mesmerised his Spy.

'We're bonded!' Sniper insisted, even as a sinking realisation settled in.

The Medic shouldn't have had any interest in Spy, not after Sniper had bitten him so many times. Spy shouldn't have registered as prey at all to the enemy Medic, not after the amount of his venom Sniper had injected into Spy over time.

Except he hadn't injected any recently, and maybe they hadn't been together long enough for the bond to take root.

Sniper wasn't sure. He didn't know enough about bonding, just knew that it was a thing. He'd encountered  bonded pairs back with his old clan and though one human woman in particular had had been gorgeous and Sniper would have taken her to bed at the drop of a hat, she hadn't registered to Sniper as a meal at all. That part of him simply hadn't been interested.

Sniper hadn't mentioned bonding to Spy because of his own ignorance of how it worked, and for fear of scaring Spy away.

But now it looked as though he might be about to lose Spy for real.

Medic snarled. The Sniper must be even younger or more ignorant than he’d originally thought. He had tasted Spy’s blood when he’d ran the tests, there was no bond. He stepped closer, baring his fangs. If he could intimidate the Sniper into leaving that would be preferable, but at this point it was starting to look like a fight.

Sniper fought the urge to take a few hesitant steps backwards.

'Leave him alone,' Sniper insisted, pulling back his lips to show his fangs too.

'You can have the rest of both teams for all I care, but this one's mine,' Sniper said, effectively surrendering all of his territory for Spy.

Madic had been hoping to feed before the end of battle and this was getting annoying. Luckily the other vampire was unarmed. He grabbed his bonesaw from the ground and strode towards his enemy, leaving Spy behind him. He slashed at him with the bonesaw, growling low as he did.

Spy was vaguely aware that there was someone else in the room besides Medic, but it wasn’t important. He was safe and tired and it was so easy to just sit on the ground.

Sniper immediately went for his kukri, only to find there was no knife in his belt.

Cursing, Sniper hastily backed away, only just managing to swerve out if the way of the bonesaw.

Panic burst in Sniper's chest as he frantically tried to think of a way out of this.

How could he survive this fight?

And more importantly, how could he rescue Spy?

Medic’s swing pushed Sniper back nearly into the wall, and he sprung forwards, the heel of his hand hitting Sniper’s chin, forcing it back. 

Sniper grimaced, head ringing. He shifted his weight to knee Medic between the legs.

Then Medic lunged forward and buried his teeth in Sniper’s neck.

Sniper made a choked little sound in the back of his throat as fangs sliced into his throat for the first time in years.

And like that, the fight was over after it had only just began.

All the fight slowly drained out of Sniper, muscles relaxing against his will. It was all over so soon. The other vampire had been so fast. So strong. He'd barely even had chance to try and fight.

As soon as Sniper went limp, the Medic tossed him on the floor. Now he could finally get his dinner.

Sniper lay on the ground, fingers twitching as he tried to fight the effects. Gradually, they stopped, leaving Sniper locked inside his own head as he watched the enemy Medic kneel down next to his Spy.

Sniper had thought before that seeing the new Medic dressed in the same outfit as his torturer was a nightmare come to life, but this, this was a thousand times worse.

He wanted to scream, wanted to fight, wanted to reach out and scoop Spy up and hold him close and keep him safe and—

No, everything was fine. It was all okay, just fine, this was how the world was meant to be— Spy. His Spy. Oh God, someone save him—

No, this was right, the enemy vampire had bested him, so he had to surrender his meal. This was how it was meant to be.

Still, something deep inside Sniper cried out in agony as the BLU Medic sunk in his fangs.

 

The distraction had been irritating and gave Medic another issue he'd have to handle at a later date, but the wait was worth it. Medic groaned as Spy's blood filled his mouth. He let his eyes slide shut, a relieved sigh escaping him. Definitely worth it. This one was exactly what he needed. And not a hint of another vampire's venom, no matter what the young upstart claimed. All he could taste apart from blood was his own venom, of which he'd released a good dose more than he usually would, just to spite the enemy Sniper.

Spy was limp in the Medic’s arms, slowly reacting to the sensations as they made their way through the thick veil of the mesmer. The venom burned a little at first, but then it wrapped him in a sweet feeling of safety.

Slowly, Spy’s brain shifted, into what he expected and wanted to see. Sniper. Sniper holding him, fangs sinking into him, venom flooding him. He was cradled in Sniper’s arms, safe. He gave a soft sigh. Everything was so nice.

 

Sniper couldn't tear his eyes away. Couldn't do anything as the enemy Medic fed on his partner, his lover, his Spy.

It hurt. It hurt Sniper deep in his chest with an agony that wanted to rip its way back out of his throat in the form of a scream of rage. But all he could do was blink listlessly, head filled with cotton wool, the world a thousand miles away.

Eventually, Medic pulled away, blood gushing from the wound he'd left. He hadn't felt the need to be careful, not when he needed to put the Spy through respawn anyway. And not while the young vampire was watching. Let this all be a lesson to him. Let him learn his place.

This base was Medic's now, and so was every person in it.

Spy gave a soft whimper but there wasn't much pain, just a pressure and a chill as his blood spilled out rapidly. Something was strange about this. Sniper was... Sniper wasn't holding him. No, why would he let go? He couldn't focus well enough to puzzle it out. But he was sure this was a bite with venom. Why would Sniper do that to him?

The thoughts faded, everything around him becoming more and more dreamlike.

Medic turned to face the Sniper. He lay sprawled on the floor still, fingers occasionally twitching, face creasing for a moment or two into a look of pain. He was fighting the effects of the bite but he wouldn't win. Medic knew that from past experience, on both ends.

The reaction was one that had almost got him killed a couple of times, but he'd learnt to strike like a snake to keep himself alive and had enjoyed dispatching more than one attacker-turned-helpless vampire who'd tried to fight him.

'When you think back on this, you will believe it was a dream,' Medic murmured to the Spy.

His venom worked perfectly in tandem with mesmerising: mesmerising allowed him to lull his victims into passivity, while, unlike Sniper’s, his venom persuaded the brain to concoct its own explanation for what was going on.

Some humans went away believing they'd had sex with him, or someone they really desired. Others thought they'd had strange nightmares. Some believed they'd been visited by Death himself, if the babbling Medic had heard afterwards was anything to go by.

Spy quieted, head dipping lower and lower until he took his last, rasping breaths.

Medic let Spy's dead body collapse to the ground, still watching Sniper for his muted reactions. The twitch around the eyes. The drawn-together brow. The shadow of a frown. Oh, he was hurting inside there, that was for sure.

It was his own fault though. If he'd just let Medic have the prey that was rightfully his, they wouldn't have had this problem.

Medic picked up his bonesaw, making sure Sniper saw it as he approached.

He stood over Sniper for a moment, considering. Then he shoved the blade into Sniper's stomach, yanked it back out and left him there to die a slow, painful death, paralysed on the floor.

 

Spy came to in respawn, in a cold sweat. That had been strange. He'd heard stories of people seeing things while in respawn but he'd never seen anything himself. He was so sure he'd seen Sniper, but the details were odd and blurry, like a dream.

Shaking the dream loose, he went back out to the battlefield, fighting a sudden exhaustion.

 

Sniper respawned just as they lost the match. As he staggered away to try and hide himself during the humiliation round, he wondering just how much he might have lost that day.


	4. Chapter 4

Spy couldn't even think about dinner that night, his stomach was doing flip flops and the strange respawn dream he'd had wouldn't get out of his head. If it got any worse, perhaps he'd go see Medic. He'd never had a chance to get that shrapnel out of his teammate's shoulder. He wasn't sure what had killed him, but he was used to death taking him by surprise by now.

He slept fitfully all night, dreaming about Sniper, about biting, and once again, about fleeing a hungry vampire.

 

Sniper spent the rest of the evening and most of the night fretting. He was desperate to go out hunting, to go out and bring down a deer and rip its throat out with his teeth. Something, anything to make him feel like he was in control again after being so easily defeated.

But he didn't dare leave his van, just in case Spy came round. How much would he remember of the attack? How much would he be aware of? What effects would the Medic's venom of had on him?

The thoughts kept Sniper up long into the night, When he finally fell asleep, he dreamt of the last Medic strapping him down to a gurney and forcing him to watch while he bit chunks out of Spy, who stood there and took it as though nothing was happening while Sniper screamed at him to run.

 

Spy felt off the next morning, and in battle he found himself slipping. He didn’t want to focus on killing his Sniper, as much as possible. His feelings for his enemy were still hard to think about and he was already feeling strange. It was better to focus on getting the intelligence and killing the RED Medic.

 

Sniper went gunning for the BLU Medic as much as he could, even as his instincts clawed at the back of his skull, warning him not to.

This was where vampire hierarchy fell apart if it wasn't based on willing cooperation, and it was all down to human emotion.

If Sniper hadn't been capable of hate and love and bitterness and resentment and pride, if he'd just been the monster he always worried he might become, he would have been able to accept his defeat, lick his wounds, and move on.

But he couldn't. Not when all those feelings gnawed away inside him, insisting on revenge and on trying to keep Spy safe.

The Medic seemed to know to keep himself well out of sight though; Sniper only managed a handful of pot-shots at him all day, despite his efforts.

He shot Spy four times. Hadn't wanted to, hadn't wanted to do anything but wrap his arms around Spy and hold him tight. Instead, he had to blow his brains out to avoid suspicion. What a great job he did of protecting his mate.

There was no chance for them to talk though, no chance for Sniper to fill Spy in on any memories he might be missing.

The three times Spy had to take him out that day were all done with such stealth that Sniper never even realised Spy was in the same room until he woke up in respawn. More missed opportunities. More time that Sniper was off the battlefield, leaving his Spy alone with the Medic. They needed to talk, desperately, but their next arranged meet-up wouldn't be until the next weekend, now Sniper had his old blood supply back.

 

Once battle was over, Spy finally gave in and dragged himself to the new Medic. He knocked before opening the infirmary door, waiting by the entrance. "Are you busy?" he asked. Medics tended to have more paperwork than the rest of the team.

 

Medic pulled an irritable face at the knock. He'd been just about to try and find out what effects the medigun had on a corpse as he dissected it.

Then he heard the Spy speak up and his irritation disappeared. 'Come in!' he Medic called. He hastily shoved the rat he'd been planning to cut up back in the fridge and tugged off his gloves.

Spy came in, pretending not to notice whatever Medic was frantically shoving in the fridge. He was fairly sure he didn’t want to know.

"I didn't want to bother you, but I've been feeling under the weather. I was thinking the medigun might help?"

'Oh no bother, no bother at all!' Medic said cheerfully. He'd fed well yesterday but wouldn't turn down another opportunity for a free meal now that it had wandered straight into his laboratory.

'What are your symptoms?'

"I've just been run down and having a hard time sleeping." He was finding himself liking the new Medic enough to admit this sort of weakness to him.

'Any shortness of breath? Nausea? Temperature?' Medic asked. 'Digestion issues? Heartburn? Lack of energy?'

“Lack of energy, yes. It was just a rough day, I think, I didn’t want to bother you with something so little, but I want to be in good form for the battle tomorrow.” He’d been so awful today. “Did you get that shrapnel out of your shoulder before I respawned?”

'Yes, thank you,' Medic said, turning away to fiddle with his medigun. It was still new to him so it sometimes took him a few seconds to work out the right settings. 'And don't worry, I got revenge for you on that horse-faced Sniper on the enemy team after you died.'

The best lies were rooted in truth, after all.

Hn, well that was a little uncalled for. Spy thought his Sniper was rather handsome, even if his face was a little long. The rest of him was lanky too. It suited him.

“I’m glad,” he lied, watching the Medic play with the medigun. He stifled a yawn, rubbing his neck

'There we go,' Medic said, flicking the medigun on. All Spy would likely need was a small top-up dose. However, Medic had decided to turn the settings up rather higher than that, curious to see what would happen when he bit Spy.

Already Medic could feel the fumes wrapping around him, invigorating him and giving him a feeling of general well-being.

'Come here, Spy,' he said with a calm smile, looking Spy straight in the eye.

Spy sighed with relief, suddenly feeling a surge of energy course through him like a drink of cold water.

At Medic’s words, he stumbled over to him, walking in a daze.

Medic's smile turned smug and predatory, fangs bared. 'That's it, come here. Let's have a closer look at you.'

Medic considered his own words for a moment as Spy came to a stop in front of him, staring off at the wall beyond blankly.

'Why not?' he muttered to himself. He glanced at the infirmary door. No one about. He reached over and tugged Spy's tie loose and undid the top couple of buttons on the shirt. There was nothing sensual, nothing coy about the movement. He'd undressed hundreds of people, victims, patients and cadavers alike. It held no special appeal to him.

However, there was one thing he was interested in taking off the Spy. Medic hooked his fingers under the mask and dragged the material up over Spy's head.

Spy reeled slightly, his balance shifting when the Medic pulled his mask off roughly. He was close to Medic, just like he’d been told, and it was good here. Nothing much else ran through his mind.

'Hmm, really just human under that mask, aren't you?' Medic said, lips curled into a mocking smile as he tipped Spy's head one way and then the other.

Not an ugly man, that was for sure. Not that Medic leant that way. Still, he had an appreciation for the aesthetically pleasing.

Though at the end of the day, a meal was just a meal, no matter how nicely presented.

Medic leaned in to take a bite and paused. Someone else had beaten him here. He snickered to himself. 'My, you have been busy...' Clearly whoever Spy had met up with in town had been an enthusiastically amorous one, if the love bites were anything to go by.

Medic chose a relatively bare patch of skin even as the bruises faded, thanks to the medigun, and sank his fangs into the Spy's throat, flooding him with venom.

Spy’s knees went a little weak and a soft sound escaped him. The venom pumped through his system and almost immediately he was with Sniper again, hallucinating his lover there, fangs buried in his neck, one hand on his back to support him.

He flushed, God, he’d missed this, the bites with venom. It was just what he’d really wanted.

Medic pulled away and reattached his fangs in a wider bite. By the time he had, the first wound had already sealed up. Hmm. He sank his teeth in deeper, until blood welled up. This could still work, but he was curious. Wouldn't the wound start trying to heal up straight away? A moment later, the blood had almost entirely faded, Spy's skin pressing in around his fangs in a strangely constrictive way.

Interesting.

Medic pulled away again to watch the wound heal up in front of his eyes.

Fascinating, really. Even a powerful vampire couldn't heal as fast as that.

He sank his teeth in, chewing this time, tearing at the flesh. Blood flooded his mouth and over his chin, spattering onto the floor below.

What he swallowed remained, but what fell was evaporated by the medigun, the ragged wound knitting closed even as Medic bit into Spy once again.

Heady glee flooded through Medic as he bit and tore at Spy's throat, revelling in the blood and violence and the helpless little noises Spy made.

Medic spared no thought for how Spy's brain might be interpreting this under the influences of the venom. He didn't care.

Spy felt little of the pain, his brain turning it to pleasure. It was Sniper biting him, Sniper kissing him, playfully nipping at him. Spy's heart pounded and he couldn't contain his little whimpers.

"James," he breathed, hands grabbing weakly at Sniper's shirt. They should lay down, before he fell.

That caught Medic's attention. He paused, teeth buried in the Spy's neck. James? His lips pulled back into a sneer, blood trickling down Spy's throat.

Either the venom had  _ really _ scrambled Spy's perception of the situation, or he had his teeth buried in a queer.

Medic pulled away, letting the last, ragged wound heal up.

He gave the Spy an appraising look. Well, he  _ was _ French.

Had the person who'd left those hickies been a man too? Medic pulled a face at the thought of having put his mouth where another man had been.

This could be...useful though, potentially. Blackmail if the Spy worked out what was going on.

Or...well, there weren't any women around. If Medic were to get  _ really  _ desperate in the future, he could maybe use the Spy instead. He probably wouldn't mind. And if he did, he wouldn't remember.

 

Spy stumbled as the Medic pulled away, wobbling a little on his feet. Sniper had pulled away and he wasn't sure why. Sniper seemed distant suddenly, dreamlike, and Spy wasn't sure if he was awake or asleep.

Medic turned the medigun up to max, the last of the blood fading from Spy's shirt and a little colour returning to his cheeks.

'Put this back on,' Medic instructed, holding out the mask. 'And straighten your clothes.' Medic wasn't going to do it for him.

He was still going to continue biting the Spy in the future though. His blood tasted good, whatever his inclinations.

Spy obediently pulled his mask back on and straightened himself up, the last of his vision of Sniper fading into nothing. He shook the mesmer loose as the medigun brought him back into his body properly.

“Thank you,” he murmured to the Medic. He felt… as though he’d been daydreaming. Hopefully he hadn’t done or said anything too odd. He couldn’t remember if they’d been talking or not.

'All better now?' Medic asked, barely concealing a smirk. Spies lived off of mystery and secrecy. This poor man just looked dazed and bewildered, deserted by all his cunning little tricks.

Spy did not feel better. He just felt shaken and confused. “Yes. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he left, trying not to make it look like he was hurrying. He wanted to be alone, safe in his room, to take stock of himself, to try and remember what exactly had happened after Medic had turned on the medigun. Had it just been a few seconds? Had his mind just wandered?

Thoroughly out of sorts, he shut himself away for the rest of the day.

 

Medic returned to his studies, enjoying how much sharper his senses felt. Good blood that, even from a queer man. Good blood. He wasn't about to give it up anytime soon.

The enemy Sniper should be thanking him really. Imagine if the Spy had been into getting bitten? Medic was practically doing him a service in keeping a homosexual enemy away from him.

 

Sniper killed that night, took down a grown stag and held on with his teeth buried in its neck until it gave a last shuddering breath.

He wasn't proud of it, wasn't comfortable with how much it reminded him of a more feral state, but he needed this. Needed the fresh blood, needed the feeling of being in control.

One bite, that's all it had taken.

One bite.

It should have been enough to tell him to leave his current territory and try and find safer hunting ground, but he couldn't. Couldn't leave this place. Couldn't abandon Spy.

Sniper closed his eyes tight, a wave of despair through him along with the deer's blood.

His Spy.

His handsome rogue.

His all-too-human partner.

Trapped in a base with another vampire.


	5. Chapter 5

The next week was a blur for Spy. He returned to Medic twice more that week and both times found himself feeling just as weak and uncomfortable as when he arrived. He did worse and worse in battle, going through respawn at a rate he’d never experienced before. He was sure that was only adding to his mental state.

 

Anxiety ate at Sniper all week. He was desperate for a chance to communicate with his Spy. He brought out his bow and arrow and shot the wall to Spy's right midday on Wednesday with an arrow that had a message attached. But the force tore the message free, leaving just a piece of string behind.

Sniper managed to find it again, lodged in the branches of a stunted, missile-torn tree, but he didn't manage to find Spy.

That was the problem with your partner being a spy.

Sniper also toyed with the idea of starving himself for the week to sharpen his awareness of Spy's location. But as much as that would make it easier for him to find Spy, it would make him that much more vulnerable if the Medic attacked.

Apart from the odd headshots Sniper managed, they mostly avoided each other. Sniper's hands shook every time he spotted the BLU Medic. He wanted to leave this base and never see him again. He wanted to punch the Medic's face to an unrecognisable pulp. He wanted to bite him, see how he liked it.

Instead, Sniper watched and waited, counting down the hours until the weekend.

_ Spy... _

_ Spy… _

_ Étienne. _

 

Medic, on the other hand, had a wonderful week. The poor, confused Spy came to him each evening looking for help, and Medic sent him away believing that's exactly what he'd received.

Medic grew stronger each day.

The enemy vampire seemed to have learnt his place, for the most part. At the very least, he was keeping his distance. If he'd bitten Spy at all that week, Medic would have known.

And the Sniper would have suffered for it.

 

It had started to rain not long after battle ended on Friday. Thank God it had been after. The whole place turned into a mud pit if it rained during. Spy wasn’t as picky about his clothes as he pretended, but who really liked to get covered in mud? Plus, it made stealth nearly impossible.

Spy had gotten another package from France and this time he was determined to introduce Sniper to macarons. He had a few different flavours, but was sure chocolate at least would be a hit. Part of him almost wished he could experience what Sniper did after a bite, after drinking blood -the heightened sense of taste must be amazing.

Spy was too paranoid to take an umbrella with him, lest he get struck by lightning. It was pitch black out by the time he started towards Sniper’s camper; not because it was particularly late, but because of the dark clouds gathered above. There was the occasional rumble of thunder and flash of lightning far away, but even at that distance the sheer power of it was enough to make Spy reconsider an umbrella. Even though he was quickly getting soaked.

As soon as he got to Sniper’s, he let himself in, stripped off his mask and started to pull off his jacket. “I brought you something, but I think you might have to warm me--” Sniper’s expression stopped him, his flippant remark dying before it left his mouth.

Something was wrong. Sniper was upset. Upset with him. They were through. It was over. Spy very nearly turned right back around to avoid whatever it was that might come out of Sniper’s mouth, but he found himself rooted to the floor, the silence growing between them.

God, he had just started to feel safe, just gotten his feet under him again after everything that had happened with the last Medic, and now... now what? Now Sniper had realized that Spy wasn’t worthy of him. That he wasn’t who he pretended to be. That he wouldn’t be able to tell Sniper that he loved him back.

But Sniper just looked so heartbroken and scared and part of Spy wanted to wrap him up in his arms and comfort him. He stood awkwardly, the box of macarons in his hand, his jacket half off, hair wet and askew from being under a wet mask. Spy didn’t dare sit, when he was soaked. He’d intended to strip as soon as he’d got here, but it was starting to look like he wasn’t going to be staying long... no. No, he had to hear Sniper out.

He couldn’t even manage a smile. “What’s wrong?”

 

'Spy...' Sniper whispered, slowly getting to his feet. He'd expected Spy sometime tomorrow. But here he was, dripping wet, dark hair plastered to his skull, and a hesitant, pinched look to his face.

Not just pinched in fact, sickly. Pale, with dark shadows under his eyes.

Sniper took an unsteady step towards him, eyes flicking over every inch of him. Spy looked so stiff and uncomfortable, so different from his usual, casually suave self.

'Spy...' Sniper said, voice cracking. 'Oh God, Spy.'

He closed the distance and embraced Spy, not caring about how soggy his partner was, or about crumpling the box in Spy’s hands. He wrapped his arms tight around Spy like he never wanted to let go, burying his face in his cold, damp neck.

Sniper was meant to be the cold one of the two of them, not his wonderful, vividly alive Spy.

“What’s wrong?” Spy repeated, slightly reassured that Sniper was hugging him, but Sniper’s voice had cracked and Spy knew something was hurting him. Maybe it didn’t have anything to do with them?

He was getting Sniper all wet and he pushed him away, reluctantly.

Sniper sat down and gently tugged at Spy's sleeve to encourage him to follow suit.

Spy...didn't smell right. Didn't smell right at all, and it hurt Sniper because he recognised the scent as another vampire's venom. A lot of it.

'Spy...' Sniper said, and he did something unusual for the two of them, he took Spy's hand and held it in his own. The hand with the prosthetic, Sniper noted. He rubbed his thumb over the back of Spy's hand, feeling the texture of supple kid leather.

'It's the enemy Medic,' he said, looking Spy in the eyes. 'Your new teammate. He's...he's been hurting you.'

Spy sat on the edge of his bed, grimacing as he was sure he’d leave a damp spot. Spy frowned, resisting the urge to pull his hand back from Sniper’s. “What do you mean?”

'He's like me,' Sniper said quietly. 'He's a vampire.' Which was probably the information Sniper should have led with, but it was the fact the Medic was hurting Spy that mattered the most to him, not what Medic was.

Spy shook his head. "I'd know!" he insisted. The idea of someone hurting him without him even knowing was terrifying.

Sniper shook his head too. 'Not when he can mesmerise. Not when he can control what you remember.' Sniper's grip on Spy's hand tightened as a fresh wave of despair crashed into him. What could they possibly do in the face of such an enemy?

'I saw it happen,' he said. 'I was there.'

Spy was having trouble processing this. He pulled his hands free, running his fingers through his hair. “I’ve been having nightmares,” he admitted. “But not about him.” He didn’t want to say that his nightmares had been about Sniper.

'Dreams are strange like that,' Sniper said quietly, curious about what had haunted Spy's dreams, but not wanting to pry. He'd had bad dreams that had involved a guy who used to bully him when he was younger shoving him in a cage and poking him with sticks ever since the last Medic kidnapped him.

'The new Medic's strong,' Sniper explained. 'He's much older than me. He's a loner, which is the only good thing about this, but we don't do well on the same territory. He wants to claim this place as his own.' Sniper paused, glancing away. 'And you too.'

Spy took a shaky breath, still struggling to take this in. "What can we do?"

'I – I don't know,' Sniper admitted. He'd been asking himself that all week.

'If there'd been any of my venom in your bloodstream he might have left us alone.' He was still bitter about that. Not at Spy though, not really. Just at the timing and situation as a whole.

'Or he might just have attacked you anyway. I can't try and fix that now though. Don't dare.

'I've tried fighting him. And lost, miserably,' Sniper admitted. 'And I don't know if you stand a chance. Some humans are immune to mesmerising and some can build a defence up against it over time but... Well, since I can't do it, I was never taught much about the weaknesses of mesmerisation. No one thought I'd need to.'

Spy groaned. There was no reason to dwell on what they could have done. He was starting to shiver in his wet clothes. "I... shit," he sighed. "How can I go back to my team?"

'I don't know,' Sniper murmured again.

'I have no idea what we can do next. I have no idea how to stop him.' It hurt to admit that.

Sniper let go of Spy's hand and began carefully unbuttoning his shirt. There was no heated passion to the undressing, no titillation, just a careful, precise touch.

'Let's get you out of all this,' Sniper said, changing the subject. Here was something within their control. Here was something they could fix.

Spy let Sniper undress him, mute and weak, still shivering. He was completely out of it, unable to focus on what was currently happening. He could only think about Monday, about working with a creature that could remove his memories, could use him however he chose without him knowing. And he'd been going to see the Medic! Because he'd been feeling so poorly! He'd trusted his Medic, his teammate, with so much more than he'd realized.

Once he was undressed, he pushed into Sniper's arms and curled himself up tightly. At least he could be warm and safe here and now, with his Sniper.

Sniper manoeuvred Spy into laying down and pulled the covers over both of them. He wrapped his arms back around Spy, feeling how cold he was still.

Sniper ran his fingers through Spy's damp hair in a slow, soothing rhythm.

He hadn't felt this helpless since the old Medic kept him prisoner. He hadn't thought he'd ever feel this way again.

Sniper hated it.

Spy was usually so poised and snarky and full of life. Now he lay curled up in Sniper's arms like he was dazed by venom or mesmerised into stillness.

Sniper hated it.

But he still didn't know what to do.

 

It was a long time before Spy warmed up enough to sleep. He had been so excited to see Sniper and now he was unable to do anything but lay here limply. All he wanted to do was close his eyes and pretend nothing was wrong.

He slept fitfully.

Sniper had never been used to falling asleep in the same bed as someone else. That had started to change recently because of Spy but now he was back to square one.

Holding Spy so close just shoved the wrongness of his scent into Sniper's face but he couldn't stand to let him go.

It didn't help at all that Sniper was hungry. His body had grown used to having a boost of fresh human blood once a week and was expecting the next round now he had Spy in his arms.

But Sniper knew he couldn't.

Couldn't weaken Spy further.

Couldn't stand to taste his tainted blood.

 

Spy woke early, halfway out of bed already, unable to see anything and unsure as to where he was. It took a few moments for him to realize he was with Sniper, safe in his camper. He must have fallen asleep not long after arriving.

'Mpth?' Sniper said, blinking groggily. He looked up at Spy and for a moment he felt happy and content. Then his brain registered Spy's expression and reality sank back in again.

The old Medic had trapped Sniper and now the new one had Spy trapped instead. There were no chains or muzzles for Spy, but he was bound just the same

Sniper couldn't stand to think of all the things that bastard might have done to Spy. Maybe in a way it was a blessing that Spy couldn't remember them.

Spy settled back in against Sniper silently. He was too tired to do much else today.

Sniper rested his chin on top of Spy's head and sighed heavily.

What a mess. What a disaster. Why couldn't the world just leave them be?

'If I bite you and used venom, the Medic might back off,' he said. 'But more likely he'll take it as a challenge and come after me. Though, what can he really do to me that I won't come back from?' Not that respawn saved them from pain...

"You've been through more than enough," Spy said softly, voice muffled against Sniper's chest. "Maybe I should just leave. Disappear."

But no, even that might get blamed on Sniper since Spy would be completely ignorant without his help. He wasn't willing to leave Sniper at the Medic's mercy, even if that meant staying.

Sniper felt like Spy had stabbed him in the chest. He should know, it had happened before. This time hurt the most though.

'I –' Sniper had no reply. He wanted to to insist Spy stay, insist he stay here with him, but to do so would be to insist Spy remained somewhere he would be suffering, all because Sniper couldn't stand the thought of letting him go

Maybe though could both leave... But if Spy had wanted that, he would have said it.

Sniper's chest ached.

"I can't, can I? Medic would know it was you," Spy swallowed hard. Could he even make himself leave Sniper at this point? Not easily. And to disappear one person from Mann Co was hard enough... to both leave... they'd be hunted down. Maybe they'd survive it but who would want that kind of life? Besides a spy, of course.

'If –’ Sniper took a deep breath. 'If you need to leave, you need to leave.' He held Spy tighter, unintentionally giving the exact opposite message.

"I'm not just going to leave you," Spy said, "not when there's an angry vampire here who would blame my disappearance on you."

'But he's hurting you,' Sniper argued, even though he didn't really want to argue.

So Spy cared for him too? Really cared for him, enough to stay in this hellish place for him?

If they stayed, both of them got hurt, but Spy the most.

If Spy left, both of them would still get hurt but mostly Sniper.

Neither option was viable.

But what else could they do?

Sniper drew a blank.

"I... you could come with me, but we'd be on the run, it wouldn't be easy." Spy groaned. Hiding from an organization like RED or BLU was hard enough alone. It'd be much harder with two of them.

'I might be able to find a clan to hide us...' Sniper said, voice heavy with uncertainty. Vampires were wary of outsiders. Too many variables. Too much chance of danger. If he announced himself to a clan, they might just kill him to remove a potential threat. And if they did let Spy and him in... not all clans viewed humans as, well, human. Sniper had heard that to some clans, they were treated more like cattle.

"I think one vampire is enough for me, thank you," Spy retorted.

'Fair enough.' Given Spy's only other encounter, Sniper couldn't blame him.

Spy nestled into Sniper's neck, looking for comfort, for some kind of escape. "I think the worst part of it is that I went to him, when I was feeling worn down. It was his fault and I had no idea!" Spy sighed.

Sniper's chest constricted. 'Went to him? After a match, you mean?'

That bastard. Sniper could just imagine his smirk as he welcomed Spy into his infirmary. No need to go hunting when your prey willingly walked into your trap.

"Yes. I thought maybe the medigun would help." Spy stroked his thumb over Sniper's chest scars, gently.

'Oh, you poor sod,' Sniper muttered.

Bastard. Bastard. Bastard.

'I wanna kill him.'

Properly. Forever.

'What do you remember about going to the infirmary?'

Spy frowned. "I went in and told him I was feeling unwell. He turned on the medigun and I ...it felt like I daydreamed for a second. But no more than a few moments. Then I felt alright briefly." Spy couldn't even be sure anything had happened, or if it had, what? Had he taken off his mask? His gloves?

"And then I left."

The Medic could have done anything to Spy in what he thought was 'no more than a few moments' but Sniper couldn’t bear to tell Spy that. Couldn't bear to think about it, either.

'Don't go to him again,' Sniper said instead, even though he already knew Spy wouldn't

"I won't," Spy promised. "But he's my teammate, I can hardly avoid him entirely." Running away whenever he saw him would be suspicious.

'No,' Sniper agreed with a sigh. There was no avoiding the enemy Medic. There was no escaping him.

Spy rested his head against Sniper silently, closing his eyes for awhile. He had so few options here and none of them were good. It twisted at his guts. He just wanted to pretend everything was alright and be happy with Sniper for the weekend.

'Let's just...let's just try and forget about him. For a little while,' Sniper said, though he knew it was futile.

It would be nice to just try and ignore the problem looming on the horizon and enjoy themselves for a couple of days though.

Except... 'enjoying' themselves usually revolved around, well, blood and sex. Had they ever met up without one or the other?

Sure, they talked and slept and shared food and drink in between, but it was blood and venom and physical attraction that had brought and kept them together. It was eye-opening to think about. And uncomfortable. Because Sniper wanted it to be more than that. He wanted Spy’s company for more than just those things.

But he wasn't sure how to approach... _ this  _ outside of those main driving forces. And would Spy even want to?

Sniper guessed they might find out this weekend, as even if Spy wasn't most likely anaemic from the Medic's treatment of him, Spy's scent was too off-putting for Sniper to want to bite him. And without fresh blood, Sniper wouldn't be getting up to anything, whether he felt like it or not.

Spy nodded. Sniper had had the same thoughts as he had. But it wouldn't be easy to pretend things were alright, even with Sniper here. And Spy wasn't exactly feeling up for sex or any of their usual distractions. Nor did he particularly want to feed Sniper, as unfair as that was to him.

A little distraction was suddenly called to mind as he spotted the slightly crushed and still damp box of macarons.

"I brought a treat," he said softly.

'Oh?' Sniper said, with an undercurrent of genuine interest. He'd forgotten all about the little box. Barely even registered it really, not when there was something so much more important to think about.

Spy disentangled himself enough to reach for the box, opening it to reveal a few multicoloured macarons. They were mostly intact, the box had taken the brunt of the damage. He snuggled back in and offered one to Sniper.

'What are they?' Sniper asked, carefully picking one up. Once upon a time he would have hated the thought of displaying any ignorance in front of Spy, but now he trusted that, even if Spy did laugh at him for not knowing, it wouldn't really be at his expense.

"Macarons, they're sweet and a bit like a meringue with a filling." Spy loved introducing Sniper to new things, though he couldn't say exactly why.

'Hmm,' Sniper said, reserving judgement. He took a bite, and immediately his face lit up. He'd picked a light brown one up and had the good fortune of it being coffee flavoured.

He ate the rest of it, enjoying the crisp outside and chewy middle. 'They're good! What flavour's that one?' he asked, pointing towards a pinkish-red macaron.

Spy pulled out a little flavour map. “Raspberry,” he couldn’t help but smile as he watched Sniper’s face light up. He picked out a pale blue one which was chocolate and took a bite, groaning. He loved macarons.

'What about that one?' Sniper asked, pointing towards a green one. Seeing Spy enjoying a macaroon did good things for Sniper's heart. Maybe, just maybe, they could try and forget about the guillotine hanging over them for a little while.

After briefly looking at the map he made a face. “Mint chocolate.” He’d never been all that fond of mint. It was for toothpaste, not for sweets.

'Ooh!' Sniper happily bit into it. Spy had chosen well with these odd macaron things. He had good taste in general, except maybe when it came to his taste in men. Sniper still couldn't work out why someone like Spy would be interested in someone like him, especially after their rocky start.

Somehow they just seemed to work. When the world wasn't conspiring to pull them apart, that was.

“I’m glad they’re a hit,” Spy said as he pressed a kiss to Sniper’s stubbly cheek.

Spy continued to munch on macarons with his lover, leaning against him and slowly worming his way under Sniper’s arm. He felt odd; he was glad to be here with Sniper but the future was so uncertain he couldn’t help but be afraid. God knows what he’d be walking into on Monday.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a bit of a roller-coaster of emotions for our Sniper and Spy.

They talked quietly together for the rest of the evening, trying to keep their minds off the future. They settled to sleep earlier than normal, and both had difficulty drifting off, even with each other’s close proximity.

When Sniper opened his eyes the next day, the first thing he noticed was that Spy felt so much warmer than yesterday. He looked a little better too; perhaps whatever sleep he had managed to get had helped. It wouldn't be enough though, Sniper knew. Nowhere near enough, but at least it was something.

Sniper wanted to do whatever he could to help his mate.

Spy blinked his eyes open sleepily, focusing on Sniper when he saw he was awake too with a little smile.

He began rubbing slow circles against Spy's temple. Spy groaned, happily, under Sniper’s hands. “You’re so good to me,” he remarked.

'I can be better,' Sniper promised. He pulled away from Spy, encouraging him to lay on his back. He leant forward so he could rub both of Spy's temples with his thumbs, fingers scratching lightly scalp just behind the ears.

Spy moaned. “God, that’s lovely,” he purred.

Sniper continued to smile, delighted. He slowly moved his his thumbs back around Spy's head, continuing to go in little circles, before sliding his hands down the side of Spy's throat. There were marks there Sniper didn't want to think about, didn't want to dwell on. He moved onto massaging Spy's shoulders, digging his thumbs in more firmly now.

Spy melted under Sniper’s hands, muscles slowly relaxing. His big hands felt amazing. He looked up at Sniper with a sweet, awed expression. That Sniper was here, was willing to fight for him, to stay with him even though it was dangerous... it made Spy’s chest tight.

Sniper moved up first one arm, and then the other, taking his time. He ran his nails lightly up Spy's arms and then rubbed the palms of his hands back down again. He pressed his thumbs into the back of Spy's bare hand and ran them down each finger. When he got to Spy's gloved hand though, he hesitated.

Spy took a moment before removing his glove and prosthetics. His missing fingers were often sore. If Sniper wanted to pamper him, Spy had no complaints.

Sniper kept to himself that Spy's two damaged fingers still registered as  _ wrong  _ to him.

He was determined to overcome that mind frame though and gave just as much attention to them as to the rest of Spy's hand.

Spy hadn’t  been sure if Sniper would shy away from his missing fingers or not, but he was pleased that he didn’t. They didn’t seem to disgust or bother him at all.

“Mon beau tireur,” Spy murmured fondly.

'Mom? I'm not yer mom!' Sniper said, smiling at his own bad joke. He trailed his hands back across to Spy's chest.

“ _ Mon! _ ” Spy laughed. “My handsome Sniper,” he translated.

'Not your handsome Mom then? I'm glad, mate. Things went weird there for a second.' He was only joking, and demonstrated by running his nails lightly down Spy's bare chest and stomach.

“You’re the weird one,” Spy sighed, enjoying the attention like a selfish cat.

'Hmm, true,’ Sniper agreed with a hum. 'Turn over for me.'

It was hard ignoring how good Spy looked, naked like this. Or how much he wanted to bite him. Or how frightening thinking about the future was right now, but Sniper tried his best.

Spy turned over, obediently, curious to see what Sniper had in mind.

Sniper leaned forward to massage Spy's shoulders from behind, before working his way down the rest of Spy's back.

Spy felt like his happy sighs were being pulled out of him, his muscles slowly relaxing, his body happy under Sniper’s hands. “You’re lovely,” he murmured.

‘I’ve always thought so,’ Sniper agreed.

Spy snorted. He fell silent for a short while after that, until a thought occurred to him

“How long have you been working here?” Spy had never asked before. There were so many things he’d never asked.

Sniper paused to think, caught off-guard by the question. His first thought was to say he'd been working here about six months, but he'd been thinking 'six months' for a long time now. 'Probably heading towards a year or so.'

“But you worked as a Sniper before?” Spy probed, seeing if he could get a story out of the quiet man.

'Yeah,' Sniper said. 'Shooting was the only thing I was ever good at really, but they wouldn't have me in the army so I had to find some other way of earning my pay.'

He wasn't proud of it, not really, but every time he'd blown a head off in his first few years, it had been with the satisfaction of proving to himself how wrong the army had been to reject him.

Spy wasn’t surprised to learn his lover hadn’t been part of the military, he just didn’t seem the type to easily take to men giving him orders. Too self reliant, maybe too proud.

“Their loss, you’re a fantastic shot,” he praised.

Sniper made a 'hmpth' noise, but he was pleased with the praise. He returned to massaging Spy's shoulders as he said, 'Wasn't what they valued though, stupid meatheads.'

“No, they want someone to take orders and not question anything,” Spy peeked over his shoulder at Sniper. He groaned again as Sniper worked his muscles loose. “I was never particularly good at taking orders either.”

Sniper sighed heavily. 'What they wanted in the Australian army was someone with a  _ lot  _ more muscle than me.'

They'd laughed at him when he tried to sign up. Actually laughed.

'I was just a skinny little bastard when I was younger. Always thought I'd fill out more when I was older and end up looking like a proper Aussie. Never happened.'

“No offense to the Australian ideal, but I far prefer you like this,” Spy hummed.

Spy missed Sniper's delighted smile. 'Well, that's okay then,' he said. 'As long as you're happy.' And though it was a joke, he meant it.

Spy laughed, “Yes, I am.” That thought, of being so happy here with Sniper, immediately sobered him. He was just laying here, pretending that everything was fine, that when the weekend was over, he would leave Sniper and be alright. He hadn’t thought he’d be able to be distracted from what waited him, but here he was, laughing.

“You make me happy,” he murmured.

If Sniper was reading between the lines right here and not just hearing what he wanted to, that might just be a slippery Spy equivalent of, 'I love you.'

Sniper leant down and kissed Spy's back. Inadvertently, he did so on the exact spot Spy usually aimed for with back stabs.

'Me too,' he said.

Spy felt a warmth settle into his body, radiating out from where Sniper’s lips touched his back. He really was happy with Sniper, more than he had been in a long time. He trusted him. Really trusted him.

Sniper’s weight against him was grounding, good. A bit of reality where Spy felt mostly adrift.

Sniper moved down Spy's back to his ass before shifting around to massage each of his thighs, calves, and finally feet, paying special attention to anything that got a happy groan out of Spy.

Spy was very relaxed by the time Sniper was done with him, feeling almost sleepy. He rolled over once Sniper was done, holding out his arms for his lover to join him.

“That was fantastic,” he sighed.

'I aim to please,' Sniper said, snuggling up close to Spy.

This was all so...

Sniper wasn't sure he had a word for it that didn't sound twee or trite. Whatever it was, Sniper was pretty sure mercs weren't supposed to be caught dead acting so...sappy and sweet, especially not with one another.

This wasn't something Sniper had ever expected from life, not something he'd ever even bothered dreaming about, but now he had it, Sniper couldn't stand the thought of letting it go.

Spy closed his eyes briefly, considering having a nap. But it felt like a waste of his time with Sniper, even if napping with him was very pleasant.

“So macarons were a hit,” he said, smiling. “At this rate I’ll fatten you up with french treats.” Sniper was still too skinny from being starved. He looked infinitely better than he had, but he didn’t quite fill out his shirt the way he used to, and his ribs were just slightly too prominent.

'Oh so is that's what this is about?' Sniper asked. 'You have fantasies about chubby snipers, do you?'

“I would like you to be a little less bony,” Spy teased lightly. “We’re both quite thin, one of us needs some padding.”

'True, we're a right couple of splinters, us,' Sniper said. Realising that wouldn't mean much to Spy, he added, 'That's Aussie slang for anyone who's not been touched by Australium but still fancies themselves to be dangerous.'

Spy snorted, “Well it’s accurate. I think we both fancy ourselves as dangerous. And we might even be right,” he chuckled. “Though, I’m going to guess you have a higher kill count. Unless you count the people I’ve gotten killed by finding out their secrets and giving them away.”

Sniper had no answer for that. How many people had he killed? How many had Spy killed? Did either of them really deserve any kind of happiness after what they'd done?

After a lapse into silence, Sniper changed the subject. 'Want to go for a walk later? If your fancy shoes and suit are up to it, it's nice trekking through the woods around here. Might want to cloak until you reach the treeline though! I think it would ruin my reputation with the team if they caught me wondering off into the woods with a BLU.'

“Of course they’re up for it,” he sniped, though personally he was just hoping they had dried after last night’s rain. 

'Alright, alright!' Sniper said, raising his arms in mock-surrender.

“And yes, I will definitely cloak. Wouldn’t want to be spotted and hunted down by REDs. Present company excluded, of course.” Spy heaved himself up and dressed. His clothes were just barely damp but he knew they’d dry fast enough. He decided to forgo the suit jacket, tie and mask, and roll up his shirtsleeves. The sun looked warm outside on the grass.

'Why, you want me to hunt you down? I'll bring my bow and arrow then...'

“That’s what the weekdays are for,” Spy smirked. He always thought it was a little strange when Sniper used his bow. His rifle was so much deadlier and had so much more range... he didn’t see the appeal of the bow.

Spy cloaked, waiting for Sniper to open the door and following him out.

Sniper had no answer to that uncomfortable truth, even if Spy's delivery made it clear there was no malice behind the statement.

It was unpleasant having Spy cloak right next to him. His instinctual reaction to that transition and the distinct little sounds that went with it was to jump away and reach for his kukri.

Sniper forced himself to turn his back on the cloaked Spy while he opened the door and stepped through, pretending to fuss over pulling a sock up inside his boot to give Spy time to leave the van before turning to lock it up.

Spy stretched slowly under the sunlight, walking beside Sniper, carefully entangling their fingers so his lover would know where he was.

 

Sniper kept his hand close to his side, having no idea what his teammates would think if they were to come outside and see him apparently pretending to hold hands with someone. He had a reputation for being a bit of an odd one but not  _ that _ odd.

He liked this though, this almost-flaunting of their impossible relationship. It occurred to Sniper that if the BLU Medic wasn't such a problem, It would be pretty hot to see if they could get up to anything in secret on the battlefield.

'How's the cloak holding up?' Sniper asked quietly as they approached the treeline.

“Fine, we are moving quite slowly,” he murmured back, “if we were running it would be different.”

 

As soon as he was past the trees and in the shadow of the forest, Spy uncloaked.

'Oh, phew! It  _ is _ you I was holding hands with!' Sniper said. 'Got a bit worried for a moment that you might have actually been the RED Spy!'

“Hilarious,” Spy said dryly. “Though he did seem pretty fond of you.”

'Did he? What? When?' Sniper asked with a laugh. 'You jealous? Not my fault if I'm such a Spy magnet!'

“During and after your rescue,” Spy smirked. “And non, I am not jealous. I’m the one sleeping with you, after all.”

'Fair enough.' Sniper knew he owed his team's Engineer and Spy for what they'd done for him. Neither had gloated about coming to his rescue or demanded favours in return though. It seemed that even in this hellish, never-ending war, good men could be found.

They kept on walking for another five or six minutes before Sniper led Spy off away from the most obvious path and into the woods. 'Come on, let's go this way,' he said.

Spy followed, carefully picking his way through the woods after Sniper. “Are we going somewhere in particular?” he asked.

'Somewhere with a good view,' Sniper promised him, though he was starting to question his decision now. Would a refined guy like his Spy be at all interested in this? Then again, he had enjoyed their time by the oxbow lake outside the camper van. Maybe he'd like this too.

“Alright,” Spy continued following, sure that he was slowing Sniper down. They were quiet for a time as they walked through the forest.

Despite being a man who liked his own space and silence, Sniper soon found himself chatting. Not because the silence was uncomfortable, but because talking to Spy was so comfortable. He talked about a kookaburra he nursed back to life as a teenager after it got hit by a car, about the wallaby he tried unsuccessfully to raise, and about Lucky, the horrible little pony he'd learnt to ride on.

Spy commented here and there, where it was appropriate. Mostly he was happy to listen to Sniper, to gain more insight on the man. It was so rare to hear him talk so much and Spy revelled in it. It did not surprise him that Sniper had tried to raise all sorts of wild animals.

Soon the route they took became steeper. 'You sure about your suit still?' Sniper asked as one particularly difficult bit of the course forced him to pull himself up over a ledge by his hands.

“I do go through battle in my suits, you know,” Spy pulled himself up after Sniper. “They’re meant for this.”

Sniper sighed. 'You know, when I think of a “battle suit” I definitely think of something a bit more impressive than a sock with holes in it over your face and a jacket with matching tie.'

“Rude,” Spy chuckled. “But I suppose you’re right. Still, it’s surprisingly good for what it is. And my mask is part of my disguise kit somehow. The masks of your teammates don’t work without it.” Spy didn’t fully understand the technology, but was quite happy to use it and experiment with it.

And he knew Sniper was right, the suit was impractical for battle compared to what his teammates wore (if you didn’t count Soldier’s ridiculous helmet). But he was unwilling to be seen as a man more concerned with his wardrobe than keeping up. At least, not in front of Sniper. He knew he was far fussier than the RED, but didn’t want that to get in the way of their outings.

'Oh. I never knew that,' Sniper said. 'Alright, maybe that is a little bit impressive then. Still, I think it would be better if you could shoot miniature rockets out of it.'

They were almost there now. Sniper had the sudden hope that Spy wasn't going to find him incredibly childish for this...

“I think there are enough rockets going on without me.”

Spy was getting tired. He wasn’t sure if it was due to becoming anemic once again, or if it had to do with the Medic’s venom, but he knew he wouldn’t normally be so tired after so little exertion.

He didn’t want to mention it to Sniper. They were trying not to think about the inevitable. Still, he hoped they were close.

A moment later, they reached a point where the ground levelled out and the trees cleared a little. Across from them rose one particularly large and sturdy tree, a tree house settled firmly in a fork part way up. It wasn't an elegant creation, but it was the kind of thing a child would stare at with awe in their eyes. It was scaled up enough for it to be clear it was meant for adults though.

'Uh, a little side-project of mine,' Sniper said, scratching the back of his neck self-consciously. 'Makes for a good spot to snipe or watch the wildlife from.'

Spy couldn’t hide his smile. Sniper had a treehouse. Of course he did.

“You built this?” he chuckled.

'Yeah, Mostly in the first month I was here when I wanted to really work out the area and find an excuse to, you know, not be around people. It was hard back then to even....' Sniper paused, and then shrugged and changed the subject. 'You'd be amazed how much good timber there is just lying around the base and battlefield. Someone had to save a bit from Pyro.'

That said, if Spy looked closely enough, he'd find a couple of slightly scorched planks.

Sniper walked up to the tree and unhooked a rope ladder tied back between thick branches. He pulled up a couple of slightly rusty tent pegs left sticking out of the ground among the tree roots and pushed them through loops at the bottom of the rope, and then into the ground. 'That should stop it from wiggling around too much as we climb up,' he said. 'Ground's a bit soft though, so no promises.'

“Clever,” Spy praised, though he was sure he could manage a rope ladder, even as worn out as he was. He made his way up, trying to ignore the ladder shaking under his shifting weight.

At the top, he settled into the tree house, looking over what Sniper had built. He couldn’t help but be impressed. He would never have been able to build something like this.

Sniper held the ladder as Spy climbed up, one foot planted on the bottom rung to help anchor it down further. It gave him a good view of Spy's ass in that bespoke suit of his so it was worth the extra care taken.

He followed Spy up afterwards, climbing much more quickly. When he reached the top, he ducked into the door-frame and clambered inside. At its tallest, not quite in the middle, Spy might be able to just about stand up. The roof sloped too much anything but kneeling or sitting to be particularly comfortable though. A tarpaulin stretched over the planks above kept the rain out, as did two more over the windows. Both could be rolled up to allow more light in and provide a better view, something Sniper set about doing as soon as he was inside.

Spy sat close to one of the windows, watching Sniper roll up the tarps over the windows. He suddenly felt like a teenager, sneaking away with a lover to hide in a secret place. The thought made him smile.

Sniper swung the backpack he'd brought with him off his shoulders and tugged a blanket out. He brushed away the worst of the scattering of leaves and twigs on the floor and set about trying to spread the blanket across it while both of them were still standing on it.

Spy shook his head in disbelief. Only Sniper would take a job as a mercenary and then spend his first month building a treehouse.

'It's stupid, I know,' Sniper said with a little laugh. 'Gave me something to do though.'

Once the blanket was laid out smoothly enough, Sniper sat down on it, facing the window and patted the space next to him.

Spy sat next to him, pressing in against him, leaning his head on Sniper’s shoulder.

'Good view, isn't it?' Sniper asked. From here they could see over the hill, across the tree canopy and to the RED base beyond. 'If you look closely enough, you can see a bit of the battlefield and with my rifle, I can even see the top of your base!'

Sniper liked to ignore those man-made structures though. He liked to forgot about the matches for a little while, and the endless violence, death and, worst of all, blood.

“Mmm,” Spy murmured, less interested in the view than in concentrating on Sniper, the slightly cool feel of his skin, his usual, comforting smell. He wrapped an arm around Sniper’s waist, turning to press a kiss to his cheek.

Sniper shifted his head, turning it into a proper kiss, teeth grazing against Spy's lower lip.

Spy sighed quietly against Sniper’s mouth. He silently wished Sniper could bite him, fill him with his venom and take away all his worries, all his thoughts. Leave nothing but contentment and a quiet mind. But he didn’t dare ask. Medic would know about them if he found out. Sniper couldn’t afford to fight him, and Spy would never ask him to. His lover had already been through so much.

It was beyond frustrating for Sniper to be unable to act on either of his instincts: to bite or to make love to his Spy. He wanted to do both so desperately.

His frustration fuelled the kiss. He deepened it, echoing Spy's quiet moans in the back of his throat.

Spy let the sparks of pleasure wash over him, leaving a buzzing in the back of his skull. He pulled away for a breath, biting Sniper’s lip playfully.

Spy wanted to tell Sniper he loved him, he wanted to. But he was terrified of what would happen to them, of what the future held. As close as they were, he didn’t want to label this as love.

Sniper broke away to push Spy to the floor, careful not to do so too roughly. A single blanket over hard planks was not exactly as comfortable as a mattress.

Spy went down easily, with a soft gasp, pliant under Sniper’s hands. He could feel the hard floor through the blanket. But things were interesting enough to keep him from protesting.

Sniper ran his hands down Spy's side, in awe, even now, that Spy would let him do so.

'You're a damn good looking fella, you know that right?' Sniper asked. Which of course he would already know, but what harm would it do to stroke his ego a little?

“It makes us a good match, don’t you think?” Spy raised a hand to stroke his thumb over Sniper’s cheek.

Sniper blinked, unable to think of a good reply to the unexpected direction. Instead he grinned sheepishly and managed, 'if you say so.'

If he'd had any fresh blood recently, he would have blushed.

Spy smiled. He’d expected a bit of shyness over the compliment, that was just the way Sniper was. He pulled Sniper down by his collar into a kiss. He felt a swell of emotion building and forced it back.

Sniper broke away to trail kisses down Spy's jaw but hit on a snag. 'I think you should take this mask off,' he said, giving the fabric a playful nip.

Spy grabbed the bottom of his mask and pull it of, leaving his dark hair a bit wild. His face was flushed, and he was breathing hard after the kiss. He wrapped his arms Sniper tugged him down to meet him.

Sniper hadn't expected for things to get so...enthusiastic so quickly. Maybe it was the reminder that what they had was so fragile that made them so desperate to touch each other.

Sniper ran a hand through Spy's hair, making it more of a mess than it had been before.

Spy laughed softly, trying to flatten it back down with one hand.

Sniper nipped his teeth along Spy's jaw until he reached his ear. Voice low and husky, Sniper said, 'I want to make you feel good. Tell me what you want...and maybe I'll do it if you're nice enough to me.'

Spy’s skin lit up where Sniper’s lips and teeth touched him. He loved the deep sound of Sniper’s voice. He hesitated though. “I... it’s not...” his brain was struggling to form a real sentence with Sniper’s teeth against his ear. “It seems a little cruel to ask anything of you,” he finally strung his words together properly.

Sniper huffed against Spy's ear. He'd been kind of hoping Spy would forget about the embarrassing problem a lack of fresh blood gave Sniper and would just enjoy himself enough to not notice. In hindsight, it wasn't so much a vain hope as a stupid one.

' _ I  _ want to make  _ you _ feel good,' Sniper gently reminded him.

Spy nodded, “I know,” he didn’t really have the words to explain it. It was always hard for him to let go and enjoy himself, but with the added guilt of leaving Sniper in an uncomfortable position, it didn’t seem like it would go well.

Spy was so close to begging Sniper to bite him. He just wanted to forget, to relax, to feel loved and needed. He buried his head in Sniper’s neck with a groan. “I’m sorry,” he said, voice muffled.

'Uh,' Sniper said. He shifted away from Spy slightly. 'I mean, we don't have to! If you don't want to do anything, we won't. I just thought...' Sniper hadn't wanted to say this. Hadn't wanted to bring it up.

'I just thought...that whatever happens this week, you could have this. Something you know for sure was real. Something you know for sure was really me.'

Spy grabbed Sniper hard and pulled him close, his grip tight. God, how could this get any worse? Now he was paranoid that this was fake, just something concocted by his venom-addled mind. He barely held in a sob. He was shaking.

'Spy? Spy?'

Oh God, he'd fucked up.

'Étienne?'

Why had he said that? So much for wanting to make Spy feel good, all he'd done was-was-what _ had _ he done?

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Just forget that, okay? Just―I don't know what to do, okay? I don't know how to fix this!' It was hard to admit, harder still to accept. Sniper's voice cracked and he swallowed, throat tight.

Spy started to laugh. “At least I know this is real,” he teased weakly, “I think you’d be less awkward in a fantasy.”

Sniper's shoulders slumped. Now Spy was laughing? It seemed strained but it was still enough to leave Sniper confused and drained.

He just wanted to make Spy happy.

'Think in a fantasy of yours we'd probably be on a soft mattress with rose petals and champagne.'

“Last time...” Spy tried to think back to the strange dream-like memories, “it was just you, just us, you were kissing me,” Everything ran together and Spy could hardly stand it. He needed his memories to be real, to be able to be trusted. He’d always relied on it to keep him safe and now he couldn’t trust it. “I’m sorry I’m making this difficult.”

'Last time?' Sniper asked, not understanding what Spy meant.

“The last...” he sighed, “The last time Medic bit me.”

'Oh,' Sniper breathed. That hurt. That hurt. He'd known, roughly, what the Medic would have made Spy imagine, but to hear it from Spy's own mouth tore deep into his chest.

'We...we could have a password?' Stupid suggestion. What good what that do? Spy would probably just imagine he said it when it was really the Medic.

'Just don't go to him. Don't go near him! It won't be me, just remember that. I have enough blood to last until next weekend just fine; if you think it's me before then, it's not!' Another stupid thing to say.

Spy nodded. But how far away could he stay from his own teammate? Especially without arousing suspicion? And how long would this last? With no end in sight, Spy felt hopeless. He was trapped in his own base with a man who could deceive him, who could make his memories whatever he liked. Spy couldn’t trust even himself. Or Sniper. That fleeting safety had been pulled out from under him and it terrified him.

A silence fell between them. Sniper pulled himself up and turned to stare out of the window. A beautiful view. Sniper hated it.

He didn't mean to say it, but the words swirled around and around his head until they came out unbidden.

'I don't know what to do.'

Spy sighed softly. “Me neither. I don’t want to go back.”

Silence fell again, a heavy, maudlin thing that hung between them.

'Wanna go get smashed?' Sniper suggested.

Spy couldn’t help but laugh. Well, it was as good a solution as any.

“Yes,” he said emphatically. “So much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter should be out on the 31st!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's one year ago today that we started posting this series!  
> One year o.o  
> Happy birthday, Blood Bond!

'Come on, then.'

Pity to leave so soon but the walk had helped stretch Sniper's legs and they could always come back another day. He allowed Spy to climb down first, then rolled up the blanket and followed.

'I know a decent place a couple of towns over. Shouldn't be anyone we know there.'

Especially not the enemy Medic; he was too new to know about it.

“Perfect,” Spy sighed. It really did sound nice. Since he couldn’t have venom, this was the next best thing to let him forget for a few hours.

The walk back didn't feel like it took as long as the one there, but they rarely did.

'I'll open the driver's seat and you crawl over, okay?' Sniper said as they approached his van. He didn't want his passenger side door mysteriously opening, just in case someone looked out of a window at the wrong time.

Spy nodded, waiting for Sniper to open the door, then crawling over to his seat. He stayed cloaked, even inside the van. Once they were further away he’d uncloak.

Sniper pretended to check over a dent that had been on the door for months before popping in the van after Spy. Luckily, Spy had already moved over to the other seat, otherwise Sniper would have sat on him.

It took them a little under an hour to drive to the second nearest town. To begin with, conversation was quiet and stilted, but things seemed to perk up the closer they got to the booze.

'Great thing about a camper van is you can get completely pissed without having to worry about driving home!' Sniper said cheerfully as they finally pulled into the car park next to their destination.

“That is convenient,” Spy chuckled. He took off his mask before getting out, not wanting to raise suspicion with the locals.

'Plus, if you wake up busting for a piss or need to throw-up, the bathroom's right there!' Sniper added happily.

He kept a careful eye on their surroundings as he headed for the establishment, but as he'd expected, there were no other mercs in sight.

Spy laughed, “well, let’s hope neither of us get sick.” The bar looked about as he expected. A tiny rundown place, with only a bartender to run it.

'Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't drink too much and make a fool of yourself!' Sniper promised.

Then he leant in close so the bored bartender didn't overhear him. 'Place isn't much to look at, I know, but people here leave you be, they've got a good selection of stuff and the price doesn't make you want to rob yourself to save them the trouble.'

Spy laughed. Sniper did have a way with words.

The alcohol was very cheap, both in cost and quality, but the mercenaries were looking to get drunk, not sample fine drinks. Spy hissed as they took their first drink, the liquid burning on the way down.

'Gah! I'd forgotten how much that burns!' Sniper said after he'd downed a shot of strong rum to match Spy's.

'Not sure what this one is...' he picked up another glass. Both had a row of shots laid out before them, the 'house special' as it was called. The special thing being you had no idea what anything was until you drank it.

'Ugh! Brandy. Yep, definitely brandy,' he coughed.

Spy grinned. “Which of us do you think will be shitfaced first?” He was on the fence about it. He knew he could handle his drink, but he was smaller than Sniper and Australians were pretty well known for drinking.

Sniper snorted. 'You,' he said firmly. 'So drink up your brandy and prove me right!'

Spy took the next two shots in quick succession, with a straight face, staring right at Sniper.

'Ooh, that's the spirit,' Sniper said. He knocked back the third glass and gasped. 'Shit, no, that was the spirit!' Whiskey. Not a good one, but a strong one all the same.

Spy snorted, “Cute.”

They continued taking shots together, getting drunker and drunker. Spy slid his hand onto Sniper’s thigh, under the counter, feeling a bit daring after so much alcohol.

Sniper had started off sitting upright but had slowly leant in against Spy more and more with every shot.

'Las...las one,' Sniper said, gesturing to a lurid green glass. He was sure he hadn't always been this much of a lightweight, but they had been through a fair few shots here and had thoroughly ignored the old rule about not mixing your drinks.

He downed the last shot and cracked it down onto the table. 'Absinthe!'

“Hah!” Spy was flushed and warm, feeling slightly ridiculous for having thought there was a chance to outdrink Sniper. Still, he’d had his fair share of absinthe in the past and American absinthe didn’t even have thujone. He knocked it back with a painful hiss. Absinthe always felt like drinking pure fumes. And judging from the way the room was spinning this one had a very high alcohol content.

'Shuwe have another?' Sniper asked. The room seemed a little unsteady to him too, but he felt so pleasantly buzzed, his worries so far away, that he really didn't care.

“Non, that would not be a good idea,” Spy admitted. At least he wasn’t slurring his words, or he didn’t think so anyway. It seemed to thicken Sniper’s accent too. “Let’s get back to... to your camper.”

'Good idea,' Sniper agreed. He stood up, staggering sideways just slightly. 'Wow, I'm sloshed,' he said. He was pleased to find that he didn't feel nauseous though and that the warm, happy glow remained.

Once they were outside, Spy sneaked a kiss, “This was a good idea,” he sighed, leaning heavily on Sniper so he wouldn’t fall over.

'Mhm. Should...probly get in the van now. Don't wanna get sent through respawn just cos some guy don' like seein' another guy kiss a guy.'

Drunk Sniper was not at all happy at sober Sniper for having parked right out of the way of everything. It meant he had to walk further. Sober Sniper was an asshole.

“Yes, yes,” Spy agreed, stumbling along with Sniper until they got to his camper. As soon as they were inside, Spy grabbed Sniper around the neck and pulled him into a kiss.

Sniper was more than happy to oblige, though Spy nearly pulled him off balance by accident.

They both stumbled back into the bed, Spy pulling Sniper down on himself. He laughed between kisses, hands sliding under Sniper’s clothes already.

'Oof!' Sniper said as he landed on top of Spy. 'I like drunk you. He's like sober you. But even more horny.'

Then, as Spy's hands skimmed along his hips, he remembered the issue. He froze, embarrassment breaking through the happy, tipsy haze.

Spy smirked.  He felt Sniper freeze and tilted his head in a familiarly inviting way. 

“I want you,” he said.

'You—I—I mean.' God, Sniper wanted this. Wanted to accept both the spoken offer and the unspoken.

'If...'  _ If Medic tastes my venom in your blood… _ but he didn't want to cause Spy anymore stress over that, and the drink made the problem seem distant and unimportant. It was an issue for sober Sniper. Who, come to think about it, had been really clever in parking so far out of the way so that if anything interesting were to go down in this van, hopefully no one would hear. Sober Sniper was a good bloke. He didn't deserve the things drunk Sniper did to him.

Spy bit his lip, looking up at Sniper desperately. “Please,’ he said. Consequences were far away in Spy’s mind. He didn’t have any fears, anything in his mind but Sniper.

'God, you have no idea how good you look like this.' Sniper paused. He shouldn't. Sober Sniper could probably resist. Drunk Sniper was going for it.

'Good enough to eat.'

Spy pulled Sniper closer, into his neck, silently begging for Sniper to bite him. 

Sniper hadn't been expecting that to work. He would have made a joke about it if his lips hadn't ended up right over Spy's pulse. He could feel it, right there, just beneath the skin. He blinked, trying to orientate himself as his fangs pushed through without him intending for them to.

Sniper let out a shaky sigh and finally giving in, leaned in to bite Spy's throat.

Spy didn’t even feel the initial pain of the bite, all he felt was Sniper’s warm breath, his mouth, the room spinning around them... He grabbed a fistful of Sniper’s shirt, head falling back easily as Sniper bit him.

Sniper sighed through his nose as he released venom into Spy's bloodstream for the first time in so long. His jaw had been aching from too much venom for ages without him even registering that was what was wrong.

He held Spy tight. If only the last Medic hadn't come between them... If only they'd properly bonded before the new Medic arrived.

Spy let out a soft cry as the venom hit him, blurring everything with pleasure. “Fuck,” he murmured. Being drunk and getting bitten were mixing fantastically.

Sniper licked the blood off his lips with another happy sigh as he pulled away. The world rocked slightly as he moved back but not enough to distract him from going in for the second bite.

Blood coated his tongue and he shuddered. God, he'd missed this. Missed it so damn much it made his chest ache. His eyes were shut, every fibre of him concentrating on the feel and taste of Spy as he shifted one hand to run his fingers through Spy’s hair. He should stop drinking his blood now, probably. He didn't want to. It tasted different to normal though, the alcohol in Spy's bloodstream almost, but not entirely, masking the taste of unfamiliar venom. It would have bothered Sober Sniper more than it did Drunk Sniper.

Sniper felt surprisingly steady to say how drunk he was. Or should be. Even with the high alcohol content in it, Spy's blood seemed to be helping his body process all the booze he'd had at a much faster rate than a human would.

He still felt decidedly tipsy though, just a bit more coherent with it.

Lost in thought and sensation, it took him a while to notice a small problem.

Oh.

Oops.

They'd left the curtains open. Sniper carefully disengaged his fangs and licked the wound clean.

One of the windows opened out onto a concrete wall, the other the deserted car park. Sniper peeked out, spotting a man stagger drunkenly out of the bar and down the road.

Even Sober Sniper wouldn't have been put off by their location when riled up, but Tipsy Sniper did take a moment to drag both curtain closed before he turned back to his impatiently waiting Spy.

Spy made a protesting sound at the interruption, unable to care that the curtains were open. “Sniper...” he whined.

'Sorry,' Sniper murmured, running his hands through Spy’s hair.

‘Just making sure it’s just the two of us alone for this...’

  
  


Afterwards, Spy nestled in close to Sniper and kissed him again and again. He was glad Sniper clearly felt the same way as him, holding him tightly in return. He couldn’t stop the affectionate words any longer. 

“I love you.”

Sniper returned the kisses happily, arms wrapped around him. He was close himself to uttering words of affection when Spy spoke.

_ 'I love you.' _

'Oh,' he said, shocked. The words slowly filtered through.

Then Sniper laughed and pulled Spy in for another kiss as he thought his heart might burst from happiness.

He'd never expected a man like him could fall in love.

And he'd never expected someone could ever love him in return.

Spy flushed, burying his face against Sniper’s chest. He hadn’t said that -and meant it- in a very long time. He felt overwhelmed and perfectly cared for.

Spy loved him.

Spy loved him.

Sniper couldn't stop the dorky grin from spreading across his face as it sunk in.

Here he was, a seasoned killer and top predator, and he was smiling like a school boy whose love interest had just agreed to go to the prom with him.

He pressed his face into Spy's hair, overwhelmingly happy.

Sniper nestled in with him and Spy sighed, happily. He was a little dizzy from the drink and venom but it felt so good. His skin was still buzzing with pleasure. He was glad Sniper had taken the leap first, and told him he loved him. Otherwise he may not have had the courage to say anything.

It was only the afternoon, but curled up with Spy and feeling both sated and blissfully happy, Sniper soon found himself drifting off.

Spy wasn’t much longer, passing out, tucked into Sniper’s arms.

 

They spent the rest of the weekend together. It was fragile, what they had between them, but both knew the issue didn't lie with each other, but in an outside force. That made the little time they had together even more precious, and though neither could be classed as soft or sentimental, they savoured it all the same.

Monday came around all too soon.

And neither of them would come away unscathed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have another one.

Spy, hungover and still feeling slightly high from Sniper’s venom the day before, slipped into his base as silently as he was able. He had a quick shower before practically bolting to his room. He stayed there for as long as he could before having to head out for the day’s match.

 

Medic should have known Spy would spend another weekend away from base. It was irritating though; Medic hadn't been able to stop thinking of biting him again. The taste of his blood was rather addictive and the thought of one-upping the enemy Sniper each time made the experience all that more satisfying.

But Spy gone missing once again, leaving Medic grumpy and hungry.

When Spy turned up a few minutes before the match started on Monday, an uncharacteristically soft smile on his face, Medic knew he wouldn't be able to make it through the day without a bite.

Spy, for his part, avoided looking in the Medic’s direction. He might still be on a bit of a high from his weekend with Sniper, but that feeling was warring with the terror he had of being attacked by his own teammate.

Watching with predatory eyes, Medic noted a slight stiffening of Spy's shoulders, but put it down to mental preparation for the fight to come. He had no idea his prey was on to him, but even if he had, it wouldn't have changed his intentions, only his approach.

**_“Mission begins in sixty seconds!”_ **

 

Spy counted down with the announcer silently, completely ignoring his teammates. As soon as the door opened he was out, staying ahead of the Medic so as to have an excuse not to make eye contact. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to kill Sniper today. Their relationship felt different now, far more serious. Spy was worried this was only going to get worse.

'Come with me, doctor!' Heavy boomed.

Medic nodded. He spared Spy one last glance to check what direction he was heading in, then followed Heavy out of the gate.

He was going to have that Spy later today, but not until he'd really earned it.

 

Spy spent most of his time either cloaked or running, doing his best to avoid both Medic and Sniper, in favour of the intelligence.

 

Sniper's first instinct was to shoot the Spy. He was a BLU after all, and he had the intelligence. Sniper's rifle twitched towards him then stalled as he watched Spy run away from him. For a guy who spent all his time posing in a fancy suit, he could  _ really _ run when he put his mind to it. Well, legs.

Sniper sighed and lowered his rifle. He just couldn't do it. The Medic however? That was a man he could kill.

Sniper smirked as he raised his rifle again and blew the Medics head off the moment he stepped out of cover to either take the intelligence off Spy, or overheal him as he ran with it. Or maybe to push him out of sight and sink his teeth in deep.

Sniper couldn't take any chances.

  
  


Spy was starting to notice that each time the Medic got too close, his head would explode. He silently thanked Sniper. He managed to avoid the Medic all throughout battle, and it lifted his spirits slightly.

Sniper had no way of knowing for sure, but he thought he might have stopped the Medic from biting his Spy throughout the match. He could have been wrong though; Spy wasn't in his line of sight at all times.

Targeting the Medic certainly had its extra bonuses though, allowing the RED Medic and Heavy combo to dominate the battlefield. That made the enemy more desperate to win, leading to the Pyro trying to ambush Sniper an hour before the end of the match.

It was only down to sheer luck that Sniper was able to get away alive, hat slightly scorched and weapons in the middle of a still-burning sniper tower, but alive all the same.

Sniper had just been about to head out to see if he could borrow a weapon off Engineer until he got sent through respawn, when he saw familiar coattails disappear into a door a couple of buildings away.

Fear prickled along Sniper's spine.

Maybe he was being paranoid. Maybe the enemy Medic had a legit reason for being in that part of the battlefield. But Sniper could hear the enemy Heavy's battle cry from the other side of the map, and apart from the dead Pyro, there should only be Sniper himself and Engineer in this area.

And maybe a BLU Spy.

 

Spy was waiting, cloaked, for the rockets and sticky bombs to stop exploding through the street so he could get out of his chosen cover and head back to the intelligence. He was hoping to grab it once more before the end of the match. Still, there was no way he was moving with a Demo and a Soldier fighting right outside.

 

Medic had started the day irritated and hungry. Now he was starving and just plain livid.

Who the hell did that Sniper think he was?

And why the hell did the Sniper think antagonising him could possibly end well?

Medic wanted to rip the Sniper to pieces with just his teeth and nails.

But more importantly, he wanted that Spy.

'Ah, an ally!' he said cheerfully as he ducked into the room Spy was hiding in, once he was sure the fighting had moved a little way away from them. The last thing he wanted how he appeared to have finally cornered Spy without gaining the RED Sniper’s attention was to be blown up instead.

Spy’s colour drained and he turned away from the Medic. “I’m busy,” he said, stepping out a little hesitantly, still making sure the bombs and rockets were over. Bullets sprayed across the open space in front of him and he flinched.

'Careful!' Medic warned. 'The Sniper's out there!' A lie, he thought, but one that should keep Spy from running away too soon.

'We're all busy, but you're hurt,' he said, pointing to a bloodstain on Spy's leg. 'Let me heal that for you before you run off again.'

Spy hesitated a moment longer. If he ran out he’d definitely give away that he knew. And forcing himself to run out into danger was hard. But if he didn’t, Medic could hypnotize him. “Fine,” he said, but kept his back to Medic as though he were keeping watch.

Oh good, so the Spy was actually injured. Medic had just seen the blood and taken a gamble.

Irritatingly though, the Spy seemed to be ignoring him.

Though Medic could easily bite him like this, he needed to mesmerise him first.

Medic went to turn the medigun on. It made a coughing whir, a heavy clunk, and went completely silent.

'Shit.'

Spy heard the strange sounds the medigun made and forced himself not to turn. “If your medigun is broken, I’ll be on my way.” He stepped out cautiously, looking back and forth for any enemies.

Medic grunted, trying to tug the handle over. 'It's okay! It just got a little dinged from the last fight I was in. Could you possibly hold it for a second for me, Spy?'

Spy was halfway out the door and it was tempting to just bolt. The RED Heavy’s roar was getting nearer. “If I’m going to get the intel again I should go.”

No. Medic was too hungry and fed-up to be putting up with this.

He snatched hold of Spy's arm and forced Spy to face him.

Spy fought the grip on his arm, looking down and away. “Get off!”

'Behave!' Medic snapped. Since when had the Spy started acting like such an awkward, petulant child?

Medic used his superior strength to pull Spy in close and drag his chin up so their eyes met, just for a moment.

Not even a second. Just one glance, and Medic had him snared.

'Stay still!' Medic commanded.

Spy stilled, the terror he felt dying just like his will to move.

 

Then Sniper burst into the room.

 

Medic snarled, throwing the now still Spy to his knees. “Didn’t you learn your lesson the first time?”

Sniper bared his fangs. 'Get the fuck away from him, you hear me?'

No he hadn't learned his lesson, and no he wouldn't back down from this fight.

Even though he knew how it had gone last time.

Even though he had no weapons on him, not even a pen knife.

Even though he knew he would probably lose.

It was Spy on the line here, Sniper couldn't stand the thought of abandoning him, no matter the cost.

Medic was furious to be interrupted. Again. This Sniper was getting to be a real thorn in his side. He bared his own fangs, giving Sniper one more chance to remember the beating he got last time.

'He's mine,' Sniper said firmly. 'If you don't step away from him right now, you  _ will  _ pay for it.' Sniper shifted closer, trying to show he meant it while his heart hammered against his ribcage.

Even if the Medic did leave, Sniper had no idea how to snap Spy out of the mesmerisation. It would wear off eventually, he knew, but how long would it take?

Medic snarled, bursting forwards to grab at Sniper. One quick bite and it would be over.

Sniper dodged out of the way, Medic's hand brushing against his arm but not managing to grab hold of him. Sniper pivoted and lashed out with his right foot. The graceless but strong kick whacked into the back of Medic's legs.

Medic fell hard to his knees, grabbing at Sniper and catching him by his belt, pulling him down with him.

Sniper swore. For two top predators fighting, they weren't making a very impressive display of it.

Sniper's jaw cracked against the floor and for a horrible moment, he thought he must have broken one of his fangs. He swiped his tongue across the front of his teeth to check they were okay as he elbowed Medic in the side and tried to scramble back up again.

He couldn't afford to get pinned down here. Couldn't afford to let Medic's fangs get anywhere near him.

Medic grabbed Sniper’s wrist and wrenched him closer by it.

Sniper tried to rip free, panic fluttering in his chest.

Then fangs pierced his arm, sharp points slicing through skin.

_ No. _

Fueled by anger, Medic dug his teeth in as deep as possible and held on until his enemy went limp. This time, Sniper would really learn his lesson.

_ No! No! _

Sniper tried to snatch his arm away. Tried fight back. Tried to move.

He couldn’t.

He'd failed.

Sniper couldn't move.

Now the Medic would toss him to the side, leaving him to watch and listen while he hurt Spy, powerless to help.

Except Medic didn't. He pulled Sniper in closer and he-

and he—

he—

No.

NO.

Medic wasn't going to— he wouldn't.

NO.

Medic sunk his teeth into Sniper's neck.

Sniper's eyes widened, fingertips twitching. It was all he could do. It was the only way he could react to the breaking of the ultimate vampire taboo.

Usually being bitten left Sniper feeling calm and relaxed, even when he knew logically he was in danger.

This time was different though.

This time his revulsion and fear bled through, leaving his body twitching as he tried to fight the effects.

It was just like—

It was just like that time.

The feral tearing into his throat, drinking his blood.

The horror he'd felt then echoed with now, but this was somehow even worse.

Vampires  _ didn't  _ feed off other vampires.

Technically, they  _ could _ and though it couldn't sustain them indefinitely, it could be temporarily beneficial.

But the taboo remained.

You don't feed off another vampire. Ever. The only exception being in the bedroom, if both vampires were so inclined.

To do it here, to a rival, to an enemy, was hideous.

It was lower than low.

It was the ultimate domination.

Medic’s fingers tightened in Sniper’s shirt and he groaned as blood poured over his tongue and down his throat. Vampire blood was like nothing else. It was addictive, the energy it gave was far more than that of a human. And it tended to leave his victims traumatized, which was a bonus in his eyes. A growl rumbled through him. He could taste the Spy’s blood in Sniper’s. The upstart had bitten his prey, even after the lesson he taught him earlier.

Nearly sated, Medic dropped Sniper carelessly and grabbed Spy. Sniper would learn who the Spy really belonged to.

Sniper barely registered Medic yanking his teeth back out, or even being dropped to the floor.

He watched blankly, screaming inside but unable to react, as Medic went for Spy. He'd been frozen this whole time.

How much of this was he aware of? And how much would he remember afterwards?

 

Spy didn’t move when Medic pulled him up, not even a flinch. He was in and out of understanding, seeing reality as though underwater; quiet and faraway.

The doctor sunk his teeth into him, releasing venom into Spy’s system. Spy gave a soft gasp. Sniper was the one holding him. 

No, that wasn’t right, this was a dream. 

No, not a dream.

This wasn’t real.

It wasn’t real!

“No,” he whispered, still seeing Sniper, feeling the high of the bite.

Medic took the second bite, savaging Spy’s neck uncaringly.

Spy’s vision flickered between reality and fantasy. “Get off,” he managed, distant horror creeping down his back like a poisonous spider.

 

Sniper couldn't watch this. But he couldn't look away, not even when he felt like knives were ripping into his chest.

There was no need for the Medic to be so rough. No need to make Spy suffer.

He just wanted to continue hurting Sniper even more.

_ Fight it  _ Sniper silently willed.  _ Fight it. _ But even if Spy did, what then? He'd still be at Medic's mercy.

All the same, when Spy muttered something in slow, slurred French, Sniper couldn't help but hope he might be breaking free.

Medic wasn’t sure what it was that Spy was saying, but he didn’t sound happy. He wondered what effect his venom was having this time. 

Finally full, he pushed the Spy out of his arms and letting him drop limply to the floor.

Sniper stared at his Spy, crumpled on the ground, shudders running down his body.

Sniper had fallen with one arm outstretched towards him. Sniper's fingers twitched. He desperately wanted to reach out to his Spy to scoop him up and protect him.

But Sniper hadn't been able to even protect himself. Not from this monster.

Medic stood and grabbed his bonesaw with a grin. Now who to kill first? Spy likely had no idea where he was or what was happening, but Sniper was clearly in pain watching Spy being hurt. He knelt by Spy and began to saw into his shoulder, not wanting it to end too quickly.

Spy, thankfully, felt very little of what was happening. It was pressure and the juddering of the saw through his body. Blood spread out around him and he was sure this was real now, and he was dying. He couldn’t tell where the bleeding was from or what had happened.

Sniper's breaths came out in shuddering little gasps. He'd thought being tortured by a Medic was the worst thing one could do to him, but forcing him to watch as Spy was the one tortured instead was a level of agony he'd never experienced before.

It took Spy almost five minutes to finally die, but he wasn’t conscious throughout. Medic continued to make random wounds, purposefully avoiding arteries or anything immediately vital.

Once he was finished with Spy he stood, coattails dyed red, boots nearly sticking to the floor with the tacky drying blood underneath them. He crouched next to Sniper, watching until Spy’s body disappeared.

“Your turn,” he chuckled.

Sniper's heart seemed to freeze in his chest.

He hated this man.

Hated this monster.

More than anything or anyone he'd ever encountered. Even the old Medic had at least been acting in part to protect his team; this one had just carved his own teammate into bloody ribbons like he was a slab of meat.

Sniper's fingers clenched into a fist, muscles tensing throughout his body. It wasn't enough though. Wasn't enough to allow him to escape.

Medic grabbed Sniper by the hair and began the same sort of treatment with him, cutting into him slowly.

The Medic's bonesaw bit into Sniper even more deeply than his teeth had. His hands spasmed. Every part of Sniper was screaming at him to defend himself but he still couldn't move. Another cry of pain ripped through. He blinked and the room seemed to darken to a hazy, off-colour version of itself.

He desperately urged himself to pass out from the pain.

His only relief was in death, which came only slightly quicker for him than Spy.

Medic stood up and flicked gore from his bonesaw, humming happily to himself.

This had been good, just what he’d needed.


	9. Chapter 9

Fifteen minutes later, Sniper respawned. He fell to his knees, barely even noticing the jarring pain. It was nothing,  _ nothing, _ compared to what he'd just been through. At least he had fallen unconscious near the end. Either that, or he'd just died quickly.

Sniper brushed his fingers against his neck where Medic had bit him and screwed his eyes up tight. He felt like he might throw-up.

Spy hadn’t managed to leave respawn. He felt exhausted and weak, pale and shaky. He had very little idea of what had actually happened and it scared him. His memories were disjointed and hellish.

Medic, however, felt on top of the world. He single-handedly captured the intelligence, smirking when a dumbfounded Scout said, 'I didn't know you could run that fast!' Normally, no, but with all that he'd stolen from Sniper and Spy, he knew he would be a force to be reckoned with for the rest of the match.

 

It took Sniper an age to drag himself out of respawn, and when he did, he was so dazed and lost that he got sent straight back again by the enemy Sniper twice.

All he wanted to do was find his Spy and make sure he was... well, if not okay, then coping to some degree. He really hoped Spy wouldn't be able to remember much of what had happened. It would be better that way.

Spy barely managed to drag himself around the base. He went through respawn at an alarming rate. He couldn’t focus. He hated it, he felt all wrong and used. It was sickening.

 

Sniper found himself back in respawn due to a vengeful Pyro, drunk Demo and screaming Soldier before he finally managed to find Spy. He was well out of the way from the fighting and either base and flinched horribly when he heard Sniper approaching.

'It's me,' Sniper said, holding his hands up. 'Just me.'

“You... you’re real?” Spy was so unsure now. Was this just another venom addled fantasy?

'Yeah,' Sniper said. 'Not sure I want to be today, but I'm real.'

He was ashamed of what had happened. Angry and upset and shocked, but ashamed too.

'Do you remember an encounter with Medic about an hour and a half ago?'

Spy nodded, reaching out an arm for Sniper, not sure he wanted to speak.

Sniper stepped in closer, wrapping Spy in a tight hug, every muscle tense.

'H—how much of it?' A dumb question. How was Spy supposed to know how much he'd been forced to forget?

Spy pressed his face into Sniper’s shoulder. He couldn’t fall apart here. It wasn’t safe.

He pushed all the horror and fear down and took a deep breath.

“I remember him biting you, I think. And then you biting me, but I knew, I knew it wasn’t real. I...” the memory was very blurry. “I remember the bonesaw.”

'Well, that's about everything,' Sniper said, his tone too flippant, a note of hysteria too poorly hidden within it.

So Spy remembered this time. Poor bastard.

Spy remembered seeing Medic bite him. The shame bubbled up again. Spy wouldn't know though, would he? Wouldn't understand the gravity of that. Then again, he had always been good at working out these kinds of things when it came to Sniper.

He also remembered being bitten, and then cut to shreds.

At least he hadn't lived long enough to see Sniper receive the same treatment.

“Are you alright?” Spy’s voice was muffled against Sniper’s shirt. That was a stupid question. How could he be? He’d lost another fight, been bitten by another vampire, and been forced to watch Spy being bitten and murdered. And God knows what Medic had done to him after Spy had died.

Sniper snorted. Not at the question, but at the thought that _ any _ of this could ever be “alright”.

'Sure,' he said, trying his best to sound convincing. 'What's one more defeat and a few more mental scars?'

“Sorry,” Spy groaned. What a stupid question. He wanted to curl up and die.

'What you saying sorry for?' Sniper asked. 'You had a shitty time of it there too and none of it was your fault.'

“I remember,” he said, dryly. “I don’t think I can stay, Sniper. I can’t keep this up.”

'I— I don't blame you,' Sniper said, robotically. It hurt so much to say that he felt like he was speaking through mouthful of glass.

It might take awhile to run. Though Spy was ready to go, leaving safely meant leaving no trace for anyone to follow- especially Medic. Fuck, what a thing to tell Sniper, after their confessions last weekend. He felt a crush of guilt around his heart. “I—” Could he really leave Sniper? Would anyone else ever be so good to him, fall in love with him?

No.

Fuck.

Spy buried his face against Sniper’s shoulder and felt as though he ought to cry. No tears came.

Sniper held him tight.

He didn't want Spy to leave.

Desperately didn't want the one good thing he had here to abandon him.

But he understood.

Sniper decided it was best not to mention that with Spy out of the picture, Medic was even more likely to come after him in the future instead. He'd likely find another teammate to feed on as well, but once a vampire turned cannibal, what was there to stop it from happening again?

“Fuck, I can’t,” Spy groaned. “I can’t leave.”

Sniper's heart seemed to clench in his chest.

'But...but if it would be for the best...' he said.

He felt selfish over how desperately he wanted Spy to stay. It could only hurt them both.

“He’ll only hurt you instead. And—” he kept his face hidden as he admitted it, “I can’t leave you.”

'Look at us,' Sniper said with an almost-amused huff, 'Coupl'a sentimental saps. Don't think mercs are meant to get this clingy.'

Spy nodded. It was ridiculous. And dangerous. He was handing himself to an enemy on a silver platter for someone and it terrified him.

Sniper wished he had a plan, some way for them to deal with this new threat, but he'd already seen the depths Medic would sink to.

'I shouldn't have bitten you on Saturday,' he said instead. Medic would think Sniper had done it just to aggravate him.

Would he decide that required even further retaliation?

“I asked you to,” Spy squeezed Sniper’s hand. He was just as much at a loss for what to do. Both times he’d brought up running, Sniper had supported his decision, but he said nothing about going with him. He knew Sniper took his work seriously. He wasn’t one to run from a fight.

But Spy was. And he desperately wanted to.

He felt trapped.

'We'll think of something,' Sniper said. He couldn't keep the doubt from his voice. 'There's got to be a way.'

But what if there wasn’t?

 

After the match, Medic retired to an experiment he was working on involving introducing vampire venom to rats. So far, the only effect it had had was to kill them after a couple of minutes of painful looking spasms, but after the success he'd had that day during the fight, he had renewed confidence in his own abilities.

As he injected a rat with a watered down solution of his own venom, Medic found his thoughts drifting back to the encounter with Sniper and Spy.

He still felt angry at the Sniper for daring to touch _ his _ prey, but he also found he was frustrated in himself. Medic had got so caught up with having fun, he'd entirely forgotten to do anything more than mesmerise Spy into staying still and hadn't even injected him with venom until he'd dealt with the Sniper. That meant there might be a window of time between the two events that Spy might still remember.

Some vampires could erase previous memories. Medic had never bothered developing that skill, believing that he would always remember to properly mesmerise his victims in time.

So now his team's Spy might very well know about the existence of vampires, either making him a trickier target, or a threat.

Medic had overestimated himself. And he was going to have to find a way to make someone else pay for that.

As he continued with his experiment, Medic pondered the issue until he came to a decision.

Today hadn't been enough.

Tomorrow he was going to have to put both of them so thoroughly in their places that they would never risk acting out ever again.

 

They'd wanted to spend the night together. Even if there wouldn't have been anything they could do together or could bear to talk about with each other, it would still have brought comfort.

But they didn't dare. As much as they both wanted to avoid Spy being trapped in the same base as the Medic, to disappear now would be too suspicious. The Medic might think he'd ran away to tell someone about the existence of vampires, or that Sniper had stolen him to bite again, or he might figure out that Spy had gone to Sniper willingly.

They couldn't afford for Medic to believe any of those things, let alone act on them.

Best for Spy to keep a low profile but let it be known he was still there.

Spy spent the night in a daze, going about his usual routine without thought or care for what was going on around him. He avoided eye contact with Medic, and everyone else, for that matter.

If anyone on RED noticed Sniper keeping to himself even more than usual that evening, no one said anything. Likely those who noticed allowed him the space he wanted.

It took him a long time to fall asleep, thoughts bubbling up like boiling water about to spill out the pan.

Being fed on by another vampire.

The pain of that death.

The pain of watching Spy suffer the same fate.

Being  _ fed on _ by another vampire.

What the hell were they going to do?

When he finally did sleep, Sniper dreamt he was back in that dark room, chained and muzzled and naked. But when the Medic opened the door, it wasn't the old, human one, but the new vampire.

'I'm going to drain you dry,' he said cheerfully, taking a step into the room.

Sniper's heart clenched in his chest, panic overtaking. He fought against his bonds as the Medic grew nearer, his struggles getting more and more desperate, more vicious, more frantic until—

Until—

The chain snapped. Sniper howled a challenge, throwing himself forward, the pale, clawed hands of a feral outstretched in front of him.

Sniper snapped awake, covered in sweat and breathing so hard his lungs ached. He threw his covers off, stumbled out of bed, and fumbled for the light switch.

The light flickered on, revealing Sniper's face staring back at him from his mirror. His chest tightened, shock radiating through him.

He blinked, staring closer at the mirror.

_ Just a dream, _ Sniper reminded himself. Just a figment of his imagination. It hadn't been real.

He wasn't a feral.

 

Spy spent the next morning in the same sort of haze, unwilling to properly check into reality. It was too much to deal with. So he didn’t even try; he shut it away instead. He studiously ignored the Medic and the way the man’s eyes seemed to follow him wherever he went.

Feeling completely unprepared, he lined up for battle with the rest of his team.

Sniper walked out of respawn feeling like a man facing the gallows.

He had no idea what future battles held for him and Spy now, but he knew they would be nothing good.

All the same, he was determined to headshot that bastard Medic every chance he got.

Hopefully Spy would be able to keep away from him and they'd both manage to avoid something as awful as yesterday happening again.

 

Spy spent very little of the battle actually fighting. He spent it keeping tabs on both Medic and Sniper, watching them both from some distance. He didn’t dare approach Sniper, especially after their talk during battle yesterday. He was paranoid that someone would see or hear them, or perhaps already had.

Sniper kept his kukri on him at all times, another, smaller knife tucked away just in case he needed it. The times he'd fought one-on-one with the Medic had proved he needed all the advantages he could get.

The Medic was quicker and stronger than Sniper, but at the same time, Sniper couldn't help but think there'd been an element of luck to them. In a more drawn-out battle in which Medic didn't manage to bite him almost straight away, Sniper thought he might stand a chance. Especially if he had a knife hidden up his sleeve.

The knife did nothing to help Sniper, however, when something smacked into the side of his neck. Sniper flinched, hand reaching up to touch the wound as he turned to look for its source. He spotted the BLU Medic grinning back at him from inside a nearby building just before he pulled the syringe out of his neck. He stared at it for one groggy, confused moment.

This was how it had happened before, with the other Medic, wasn't it?

Sniper staggered, trying to stay on his feet, head swimming with dejavu.

Then the ground rushed up to meet him.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for homophobia and attempted sexual assault

Spy had spotted Medic getting dangerously close to Sniper’s nest and followed, a little closer than was comfortable. He had to warn Sniper.

By the time he got there, it was too late. Sniper was slumped on the floor  and Medic stood over him.

Spy knew there was no way to sneak up on Medic. If he was anything like Sniper, he’d be virtually impossible to sneak up on after so much blood.

Confrontation or running? Running was far safer and more his style. But he couldn’t leave Sniper. He stepped out, silently, knife in hand, flickering open.

 

Sniper struggled weakly to escape, jaw set in anger, hands clenching into fists. The whole world spun around him like he was on a carousel, sights and sounds blurred in and out of focus.

He tried speaking but had no idea if the slurred sounds he was making were words or not.

One moment everything felt distant, like he was trapped deep under the sea, then pain flared up through his arm, bringing the world rushing in towards him from all directions.

The Medic had bitten him. He knew he should be fighting back but now it was getting harder and harder to move at all. Sniper's fingers uncurled, his jaw relaxing against his will. He couldn't move.

From a thousand, billion miles away, he thought he heard the Medic say, 'How nice of you to join us.'

Out of the corner of his eye, Sniper could see Spy. His Spy. Here to rescue him. He wanted to scream at Spy to run, wanted to warn him he didn’t stand a chance, but no sound escaped.

Spy stood firm, though his instinct to run was enormously strong. “Get away from him.”

It came out before he’d even had a chance to think about how much it gave away. He just couldn’t stand seeing Medic standing over Sniper with blood on his lips.

A grin slowly spread across Medic's face, revealing longer, more curved fangs than Sniper's.

'Oh no, that won't work,' he said, giving the prone Sniper a prod with his foot. 'What about if  _ you _ come here instead?' Medic asked, with a glimmer in his eyes.

Spy felt the pull of those words bring him forwards a step, but he fought back. No. He would not move. He would not move. He would not move!

The Medic’s eyes narrowed.

Spy felt quietly triumphant at having resisted Medic’s command. His fingers tightened around his knife and he took a slow breath.

Under the Medic’s eyes it felt like one of his filters was missing though. More slipped out, “I know what you are.”

'Clearly,' Medic said, grim smile widening. The unnatural gleam in his eyes went up another notch. 'But you don't appear to be reacting like it's a surprise to you and for some reason, you're trying to protect the Sniper from me, a mutual enemy of ours.' The smile slid from his face. 'Why?' Medic asked, voice turned curt and demanding.

The words felt dragged out this time. “I’ve known he’s a vampire for months. We’ve been together for almost as long.” He willed himself not to flush, but he could feel his face warming.

Horror crawled down Sniper's spine. Their secret was finally out. How might Medic use this new weapon against them?

A look of disgust flickered across Medic’s face.

So. When the Sniper said Spy was his...he'd meant in  _ that _ way? Medic had been coming between a homosexual couple without knowing it, he realised. Revolting.

Then again, when there weren't any women around and there was a slim man who smelled and tasted so appealing to a vampire... Medic almost couldn't blame him. Needs were needs, after all.

'How sweet,' Medic said. 'true love, is it?'

Spy practically spat at him. “Fuck you.” Maybe it was. Maybe they were in love. They’d both said it. Spy could see the open disgust on Medic’s face and didn’t want him to learn anymore about them if he could help it.

'Ah—ah—ah,' Medic said, shaking his head. 'Let's not have anymore of that attitude here.' His eyes gleamed again. 'It's not very nice to say something like that in the middle of a polite conversation. Wouldn't you agree, Sniper?'

 

Sniper's mouth twitched, a low, rough growl building up in the back of his throat. He wanted to rip that man limb from limb. He was toying with Spy, that much was clear, but what had he got planned this time? What did he want?

The same thoughts were occurring to Spy. He was toying with them. Spy looked down at Sniper, trying to communicate some kind of comfort. He was struggling to meet Medic’s eyes- he was afraid that was what was truly needed to mesmerize.

“What are you after?”

A smirk slowly spread across Medic's face. His eyes gleamed again. No matter how much Spy tried to avoid looking directly at them, he would find himself unable to stop himself entirely. Medic knew that from experience. The Spy was a slippery little fish caught on the end of Medic's fishing line and as hard as the Spy struggled, Medic could simply reel him in at any time.

He chose to do so now.

'I'm the RED Sniper you  _ love  _ with all your little heart, aren't I?'

There was a horrible twisted second where Spy could see it happening, where he knew exactly where this was going, but even that couldn’t stop him from seeing Sniper standing in front of him. He nodded, whispering “yes,” even though he couldn’t remember what Sniper had asked or why he he felt so afraid. His knife fell from his fingers.

_ 'No!' _ Sniper wanted to scream, the word trapped in his throat. He blinked furiously, trying to fight the hold the Medic had on him through both the bite and the drug.

His neck prickled when Medic looked away from Spy and to him.

'Come here,' Medic said, still commanding Spy. 'We're all alone, the two of us, you can come a little closer.'

Then the timbre of his voice shifted slightly and this time it was Sniper Medic addressed.

'I  _ almost _ get it, you know. Not the actually liking men part; we don't share that perversion, but he certainly has his own particular appeal, doesn't he?'

Sniper's breath caught in the back of his throat, fear prickling down his spine.

Spy stepped closer, pressing into Sniper, resting his cheek on Sniper’s chest, hands flat against his abdomen. It was good to be alone with him, to have a moment of safety with his Sniper.

Well if Medic had been in any doubt about the truth of Spy's statement, the way he'd plastered himself all over him would have been the proof he needed. Medic carefully peeled Spy back off himself again, not wanting to give away to Sniper that it had made him feel uncomfortable. He was the one in control here. He had all the power.

'You want to make me feel good, don't you, Spy?

Sniper's chest constricted with panic.

Nononono, no! No. What was the Medic going to do? What did he want? Why would he do this?

Another softly whispered ‘yes.’ Spy was a little confused as to why he’d been pushed away, especially since Sniper had called him closer. They were alone. It was safe.

_ Nononono no!  _ Why couldn't Spy see it was Medic? Why couldn't he remember what they'd said? He should know that wasn't him!

Sniper tried to shout, tried to warn Spy, but he couldn't.

_ How dare he how dare hehowdarehehowdarehe?  _ Sniper struggled to move, fighting his own body with every bit of willpower he could muster. His fingers twitched into a loose fist for a moment, then relaxed again. It was all he could manage. It wasn't enough. It wasn't enough.

'You're going to do me a little  _ favour _ , aren't you?' Medic asked Spy, fangs gleaming. 'And you're going to enjoy doing it, aren't you?' He placed his hands on Spy's shoulders and pressed, urging him down onto his knees

Spy smiled up at him, pupils widening as Sniper pushed him down. They were safe here, they could enjoy themselves. He ran his hands over the front of Sniper’s pants, reaching for his belt buckle.

_ Don't! Don'tdon'tdon't! It's not me! It's not me!  _ A wavering little sound escaped Sniper, a thousand miles off of the screaming and shouting he needed.

His fingers flexed again, pain shooting up into the tips. He blinked hard, the world seeming to narrow down in front of him until there was just two people left in the whole of existence. Just Spy and the Medic. Just his mate and the enemy vampire.

Medic's grin wavered for just a moment then as the reality of what he was about to do hit him. Not the bit about torturing the enemy Sniper and abusing his team's Spy, they were both enjoyable things to think about. No, it was more the thought that this was a  _ man _ he was about to engage in a sex act with. One mouth was just the same as another, he was sure, and he'd already thought of doing this if he found himself feeling wound-up enough here where there were no women available, but...

Another person was about to see him engage in a sex act with a man. That was the major issue. But it was also why he was doing this.

'Undo my belt,' Medic instructed, voice harsh and on edge.

This wasn't an act of homosexuality. This was teaching the younger vampire his place. This was how he proved, once and for all, that the Spy was his plaything and that Sniper was no more than a fly to him, a pathetic little nuisance that could be swatted away at any time.

Spy carefully undid Medic’s belt and hooked his fingers over the edge of his trousers, fingers brushing skin, one thumb hooking under the top button. He paused, looking up for permission. He couldn’t explain why exactly when he couldn’t remember Sniper indicating so, but he got the feeling Sniper wanted to be the one in charge of this encounter.

Medic's breathing hitched slightly as Spy’s gloved hands skimmed across his waist. He'd been on the verge of calling this whole thing off a moment ago, but it had been a while, and now Medic was wondering why he hadn't mesmerised the Spy into doing this before now.

'Good with his mouth, is he?' Medic asked Sniper, with a smile that never reached his cold eyes.

He looked around to find Sniper had his head forehead pressed against the floorboards, shoulders pushed off the floor, one arm under him. Hmm, that wasn't the position he'd been in when Medic had last looked at him, but even if the Sniper had managed to shift a little more than one would have expected given the drug and the bite, he was still hardly a threat.

Spy blinked blearily. Sniper had said...yes, right? Said something… Said…

He wanted this. He’d said he wanted this.

Spy unhooked the button and pulled down the zip.

Medic licked his lips. He wasn't sure he'd actually be able to finish, not with an audience, but he could enjoy himself all the same. And maybe after the match they could take this up again and he could explore more in private.

'And when I'm done here, do you know what I'm going to do?' he said, once again addressing Sniper. 'I'm going to turn your little Spy around and point out to him that that awful awful BLU Medic who has been harassing him and his boyfriend is just over there, lying helpless on the floor. It will be interesting to see what he does with you, don't you think?'

Medic expected a low moan of despair, or maybe no noticeable reaction at all. What he did not expect was for the Sniper to lever himself up onto his other arm with a long, rumbling growl. His eyes widened as the Sniper slowly raised his head, revealing slitted pupils in his eyes, and lips pulled back from a mouth full of fangs.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A small but feisty chapter for you.

 

Medic pushed Spy aside and frantically did up his pants. 

The Sniper had gone feral.

_ Feral. _

Medic had never seen a feral vampire firsthand himself, but there was nothing else this could be. 

How? How had this happened?

He had a suspicion as to the why, but the how remained.

How was this even possible?

He grabbed for his bonesaw, backing up a step.

 

Spy was in a daze on the floor, uncertain as to why he’d been pushed away.

 

Sniper hadn't even been conscious of the change. One minute he'd been fighting to move with everything he'd got, the next...

Sniper splayed a clawed hand on the wood and pulled himself up onto the balls of his feet. He stayed there crouched for a moment, tipping his head to one side to consider the human pray on the floor with his cat-like eyes. Then the Medic pulled out his bonesaw and Sniper's attention snapped straight back to him. He growled again, the sound low and guttural.

Spy watched in a stupor as the man he thought was Sniper backed away from him as though afraid. He’d fallen hard but felt too strange, too weak to try getting up.

Medic snarled back at Sniper, not sure what he should do. Turning his back on this thing seemed unwise but waiting to be attacked was no better. He continued to back up slowly. Perhaps the thing would go for the closer prey, the immobilized Spy.

The blood source to the left would certainly be the easiest target. Sniper's head tipped back towards the body on the floor, assessing it.

Easy prey. Easy food source.

A hunger started to scratch at his insides, once that would build and build and build until it consumed his every waking moment.

No. For some reason the prey on the ground wasn't... wasn't right. Something prickled at the back of his mind, telling him no.

Sniper's eyes slid back towards Medic.

He had no such qualms about this other one though. A vampire, not a human, he was able to register that much. But it didn't matter. Both were prey to a feral.

Sniper launched himself at the Medic.

Medic leapt back, fangs bared. He reached out to try and grab what used to be the Sniper, to push him off and to the floor. If he could take the feral down he’d be able to run, stay further away until the feral found better prey... and then what? Killing him would just send him through respawn! He lashed out with the bonesaw.

Sniper twisted out of the way, teeth snapping at the side of the Medic's face, just a hair's breadth away from tearing into it. He clawed at the Medic, one hand forcing the bonesaw down, the other snagging at the Medic's lapels, shredding through his coat and shirt.

Medic fell backwards with a cry, pulling away from the hold on his shirt, held up only by the feral’s iron grip on his wrist.

Spy frowned, the illusion was starting to fade. For a moment there were two Snipers and he shook his head to dislodge the image. “James?” he whispered.

Sniper yanked the Medic towards him, sending him stumbling into his arms. He wrenched the bonesaw away with a harsh twist of the Medic's wrist, and sank his teeth deep into his upper arm.

Spy blinked, the scene before him gradually coming into focus, reality snapping back into place. That hadn’t been Sniper! That hadn’t been him! 

And now…

He should have felt triumphant, to see Sniper finally sink his teeth into Medic. This should have been a victory. But there was something wrong with Sniper; something horribly wrong.

“James?” he repeated.

Medic gave a bark of pain, muscles weakening. He fought the urge to submit. Even knowing that he would go through respawn, he hated the idea of the Sniper biting him, draining him... it sickened him.

Sniper ripped into Medic's arm, overcome by a manic, all-consuming urge just to hurt him. Blood spattered across his face and welled under his teeth. It tasted different to human blood. Sharper, more metallic. It would have bothered Sniper normally, but not in his current state.

Medic’s cries grew weaker as the feral ripped into him. His vision started to tunnel and he struggled. His body wasn’t cooperating with him and all he could do now was mewl.

Spy dragged himself to his feet and approached Sniper slowly. “James,” he murmured. He was terrifying like this, there was so little of him in there.

Sniper didn't even notice Spy's approach, let alone the quiet use of his name. Every sense was filled by the feel of flesh tearing beneath his teeth, the Medic's hoarse cries of pain, the taste of blood on his tongue, the scent of it filling the air, the sight of it welling up from the wounds.

It didn’t take long for Medic to die after that. His body disappeared from Sniper’s grip, whisked away by respawn.

Spy flinched as Medic’s corpse disappeared. That left just him and Sniper.

Sniper let out a disappointed growl.

Then he stiffened.

He raised his head, slowly turning to face Spy. Sniper paused, staring straight at Spy with his cat-like eyes, gore dripping down his chin.

Spy fought rising bile at the sight of Sniper. “James,” he repeated, louder. He held out a shaking hand, palm up.

Sniper stare was unwavering. Unblinking. He licked the blood from around his mouth while watching the Spy blankly.

The Medic was gone. The Medic was gone but he was still hungry. Ravenous, in fact. This wouldn't do.

 

There was nothing of James in that expression, nothing human. No sweet awkwardness. No endearing shyness. Nothing.

“Please, James, please be in there,” Spy begged, forcing himself closer, hand still shaking.

Odd behaviour for prey, this. The feral Sniper wasn't going to question it though. A meal was a meal.

_ Mine  _ he thought happily.  _ Mine.  _ Now the rival had been removed and only the apex predator remained.

_ Mine! _ Sniper sprung up from the crouch, launching himself at Spy and taking him down, Spy's head cracking against the floorboards below.

Spy screamed, fighting to get out from under Sniper. The feral held him down like he was nothing. His head cracked on the floor and his vision swam.

Sniper snapped his teeth shut on Spy's throat.

Spy’s scream cut off as Sniper tore into him, struggling hard under him.

_ Mine. _

_ Mine. _

Blood coated his tongue.

Something tugged at the back Sniper's mind, like a small dog with its teeth dug into his trouser leg.

Sniper didn't like it. He forced his teeth in deeper, trying to ignore it.

_ My... _

That tug became a wrench, one that pulled at him with such force the whole world distorted and changed around him. Colours he hadn't even noticed were missing flooded back, his field of view narrowing, sharp edges fading to normal.

Then the realisation of what he was doing slammed into Sniper.

_ Oh God. _

_ Oh God, no. _

_ Étienne. _

 

Spy’s throat was nearly torn out. He struggled briefly, eyes unfocused. It wasn’t long before he fell flat, too weak to lift his head. A wet gurgling sound came out of his throat, his breathing heavy and ragged.

Sniper pulled his teeth free as carefully as possible. They were no longer all razor-sharp, but he still had his fangs to be careful of.

Spy lay beneath him, wide-eyed and bloody, his throat a gristly mess. His breathing sounded horrible; laboured and rattling and wet.

Sniper swallowed thickly, blood at the back of his mouth.

'Spy...' he said. His hands were shaking. 'Spy. Oh God. Oh God, Étienne.'

And apology hovered just behind his lips, but how could 'sorry' ever begin to describe how he felt or to undo the damage he'd done?

This was a nightmare for Sniper, a waking nightmare. He'd become the thing he'd always feared he would, and he'd done the thing he'd always feared he would.

'Oh God, Étienne.' He took one of Spy's outstretched hands in both of his and clutched it tight, bowing his head forward..

Spy barely heard Sniper, but there was a flicker of victory at hearing his name from Sniper’s lips. He had brought him back. Sniper was himself again.

Spy smiled weakly as he faded into respawn.

Sniper stayed where he was long after Spy took his final gasping breath. Long after respawn took away his body.

How could he ever stand to look Sniper in the eye again? How could Sniper ever approach him again?

He'd destroyed it. Destroyed everything between them. Surely.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A longer chapter this time!

Medic respawned with his heart racing in his chest, panic gripping him.

A feral.

A feral.

Out in the battlefield.

Oh God.

He'd stumbled across traces of ferals in the past, knew horror stories about them, met other vampires who'd encountered them. But he'd never seen one in real life before, not up close. And he'd never seen one begin the change.

It'd be out there, ripping into any man it found. How long until its skin turned white, its limbs began to lengthen, its hair fall out? How long before it became the creature of nightmares? It had already been bad enough.

It was already dangerous enough to destroy anyone here. Already dangerous enough to expose vampire kind to the world.

How long before the teams found out? How long before they realised what Medic was?

He stumbled out into the field on shaking legs, all triumph and smugly held power ripped away from him when the feral tore him to pieces.

He'd had no idea. He couldn't have known. This wasn't his fault.

He wasn't to blame.

 

Spy stumbled out of respawn, dazed and in shock. His gaze settled on Medic and he came to a sudden stop, lip raising in disgust. Disgust at both of them. The garrotte was in his hands before he’d even thought of it. He followed in Medic's shadow for a moment and then-the garrotte was wrapped around his neck and pulled tight, his knee in Medic’s back, pushing him down. Not even considering if this was a bad idea, if Medic might be out for revenge.

Medic screamed in surprise as the wire flickered across his vision. He didn't know what it was, not even when it tightened around his throat.

He choked, eyes bulging, scrabbling at his neck.

It was the Spy, not the Sniper. Not the feral. He could tell that much by the flash of a blue sleeve out of the corner of his eye.

How. How had the Spy known to attack him? Did he really remember that much of what just happened? But didn't he know Medic wasn't the real enemy anymore? There was a feral out there!

Medic opened and closed his mouth like a fish as he tried to talk, tried to beg the Spy to stop.

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe.

Spy held on viciously until the Medic stopped struggling and finally gasped his last. He realized soon after that Medic would be respawning just behind him and he fled, heading towards where he’d last seen Sniper, feeling somewhere between triumphant and still in shock.

Medic respawned again a few minutes later, disorientated and cowed.

He was angry, yes, and his pride had taken an awful beating that he wanted to avenge. But he was, at heart, a bully and a coward. Now he'd lost the upper-hand, all he wanted to do was run and hide and hope that he'd manage to find a way out of the situation alive. So that's what he did.

Spy kept all his emotions tightly held as he looked for Sniper, sure that if he thought about what had happened, he would break down.

Sniper waited upstairs in the building where Spy had died, knowing he'd come back. He waited like a child who knew he was about to get told off for breaking an expensive vase, or perhaps more like a criminal sentenced to death.

He'd done something terrible.

Something unforgivable.

Something he could never forgive himself for.

And likely, the Spy would never be able to forgive him either.

Best to stay here and find out soon, than to sneak away and live with that hanging over him.

Spy raced up the stairs and felt a kick in the chest at seeing Sniper. He still had blood staining his face, but Spy could see it was him, it was his James.

“God, you’re okay,” he managed.

Sniper took a step forward and stopped himself, arm slightly outstretched, fingers reaching towards Spy.

He tried to speak, but at first words failed him. His throat worked, no sound escaping until he managed to croak, 'Étienne.'

Spy stepped into his arms and clutched at Sniper’s shirt. He had no idea what to say, no idea what he could say to make this better.

'I—I'm sorry,' Sniper said. 'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Oh God, Étienne, I didn't mean to. I didn't know. I couldn't stop. It wasn't—It wasn't  _ me. _ But I still...It was still... I did that.'

It wouldn't be enough. It could never be enough. But it was all Sniper could say.

“Sniper,” He stumbled over the class name, “James.” Spy wrapped an arm around his neck. “I know that must have been terrifying, but you saved us from Medic, and you came back.”

Sniper had been expecting Spy to keep away from him forever, or to stab him in the back, or to declare him a monster. Not to hug him and say he'd saved them.

'What if it happens again?' Sniper murmured desperately. 'What if I don't come back?'

Spy held him tighter. “I’ll bring you back,” he promised.

'I—I killed you,' Sniper pointed out. 'I didn't even recognise you.’' It was already difficult to remember what he'd done, let alone what he'd thought. And it was impossible now for him to understand his own reasoning of such a short time ago. Then again, it had barely been his own mind.

'Do you think the Medic will stay away from us now or do you think he's going to want to chain me up and study me like the last one?' All Medics seemed to be insatiably curious. But all vampires had an innate fear of ferals. Which would win over the other?

“You, you weren’t you,” Spy stroked his fingers through Sniper’s hair, “but you are now. And Medic seemed pretty out of it. He might not want to come near a vampire that can go feral and come back from it.” Spy couldn’t help a thread of fear coursing through him at the thought of an angry Medic, but he stuffed it down. He could deal with that later.

Sniper laughed weakly and said, 'That's not even supposed to be possible, not as far as I know. Everyone always made it sound as though once you go feral, you never come back. I've certainly never heard of it. Maybe...maybe it's you that brought me back. Maybe you're the difference. Maybe the vampires who've gone feral in the past haven't had... a partner.' It was the least sappy way Sniper could think of for stating what they had between them, whatever it was.

Spy shrugged. Sniper knew more about this than he did.

 

The Administrator’s voice rang out, announcing the BLU team’s defeat. Spy’s energy abandoned him along with his weapons.

Sniper felt Spy's shoulders slump and he held him tighter.

'Spy,' he said, an idea occurring to him. 'You know how you haven't wanted me to use venom Spy nodded, burying his face against Sniper’s chest. Had Sniper figured out his paranoia, his fear of being addicted to the bites?

'Uh, is there any chance of you re-thinking that one?' Sniper asked hesitantly, oblivious to Spy's thoughts.

Spy nodded again. All he wanted now was to enjoy the void the venom left him with. All he wanted was to pretend everything was fine, continue on exactly as they had been.

'It's just...it's just. Well. Urgh, I should have told you about this earlier. I should have explained. But I didn't realise it was what was happening to begin with and then I didn't want to scare you away and then you didn't want me to do it anymore and then the BLU Medic happened and I don't even know if I understand it properly anyway so...' Sniper trailed away with a frustrated sigh.

'I should have explained from the start.'

Spy frowned, suddenly concerned. “Explained what?” God, if anything else went wrong he didn’t think he could take it.

'Vampires can, uh,  bond with humans,' Sniper said. 'I never learnt all the details about it because it involves biting and, well, I was never meant to do that. So I couldn't be assed to learn about something I knew would never been an option for me because why should I, and anyway, I've always been more of the loner type so—' Sniper cut short his own ramblings to force himself back to the point.

'It involves venom. Injected over time so the body adapts to it. I don't know how long it takes or how much venom you need, but it ends up forming a bond. It creates a symbiotic relationship. So the vamp isn't the only one benefiting, the human does to. They get improved reflexes and strength and stuff, I think. But also an extended life expectancy. And their blood smells and tastes bad to other vampires so they're not as likely to be attacked by anyone.'

“Well fuck,” Spy laughed. “I’m sorry I messed everything up,” Damn it, he was getting choked up. He took a shaky breath. “We’ll use venom again. We should... I should go. Humiliation round is probably almost over.”

'You didn't mess everything up,' Sniper assured him. 'I should have realised we'd started bonding sooner and made sure we finished. Then...then maybe the Medic would never have attacked you. But it wouldn't have been fair to bond you without you even knowing what I was doing. Or without me even knowing what I'm doing. It's a big thing. It could change a lot. For both of us.'

Sniper didn't want Spy to go.

'Think about it,' he said. 'Maybe we could meet up again in a bit after the match? Or maybe tomorrow?'

“Maybe,” Spy knew it was harder to get away during the week. It was only Tuesday. “It’s hard to go back and forth like that.”

'And I guess we don't to go attracting the Medic's attention still...' Sniper agreed. 'Though it would keep you away from more as well.'

“I’ll try,” Spy said softly. Right now all he wanted was to lock himself away and try to work through everything that had happened. He loved Sniper and wanted to spend time with him, but it was also ... so much had happened today. He was exhausted.

'Just...stay safe, okay?' Sniper said. Not because he thought Spy would do anything risky, but because he cared. He didn't want to let go of Spy.

“I will,” he promised, hoping that he could keep it. As long as Medic couldn’t mesmerize him through a locked door, he’d probably be fine. He wasn’t a spy for nothing, he could disappear for a few days while still living on base.

He gave Sniper one last squeeze before turning back to his base. He felt... numb. Like he should be feeling a lot of things but there were just too many.

 

Sniper slept poorly that night, images of the enemy Medic abusing Spy running through his head. When his mind finally stopped buzzing with thoughts long enough to let him sleep, Sniper dreamt of hunting through the outback on all fours, searching for something he wanted that was always just out of reach.

It would have brought him some comfort to know the Medic had an equally bad time of it.

The feral hadn't attacked any of his teammates. Not one of them. When no one mentioned being horrifically mutilated by a monster Sniper, he even went prying, asking if anyone had experienced any weird deaths on the field. His questioning got so insistent that Heavy promised he would punch him in the face if he asked anymore.

Irritated and scared and confused, Medic slunk back to his infirmary. What did this mean? A feral should have attacked anyone on sight. Why had it just gone for him? Why hadn't anyone else seen it?

When Medic finally fell into an uneasy sleep that night, his dreams were full of pale creatures hunting for him in the hospital he used to work in. No matter where he hid, he knew they were nearby and it was him they wanted, not anybody else in the building. Just him.

Upon returning to his room, Spy locked the door behind himself immediately. He sat on the floor with his back to the wall and pulled his knees to his chest. He sat silently for quite awhile, still numb.

The events replayed in his mind, over and over, as he looked for any flaw in the illusion, for any place he should have realized it hadn’t been Sniper. He could see a million other endings, ways he could have escaped, but he was stuck with what had really happened. Stuck with what  _ almost  _ happened. Stuck with the knowledge that it had been Medic, that he’d been about to—

Spy bit into his gloved hand to keep from screaming.

The only thing that had saved him was Sniper going feral. And that had hurt Sniper. He was worried about his humanity again.

Spy desperately wanted to stay here, in his room, forever. But it was only Tuesday and he had three more days of battle. And after that... he felt like he had a responsibility to go to Sniper. If he avoided him, Sniper would only think himself a monster. He was James again, no more a monster than he’d been last week, but it might take some convincing for him to really believe that. And Spy wanted him to feel like himself again.

Still. All he wanted was to sleep for a week, a month, drown everything out for awhile. And as much as he loved Sniper, he desperately didn’t want to be touched right now.

He pulled off his mask and wiped his eyes. He knew he should be hungry and exhausted but he felt nothing but a headache. His desire to sleep had more to do with not wanting to exist than actual tiredness.

Footsteps passed outside his door and his heart began to race. He listened hard until they faded. Medic could come by any time. He was still trapped. Anything could happen. None of his memories could be trusted. All he could do was stay quiet and pray a locked door was enough.

It took some time, but finally Spy dragged himself up and curled up on his bed.

The silence wore on him, all he could focus on were the sounds outside his door, imagining the worst. He suddenly wished for his little radio, though he was sure he’d be too paranoid to turn it on, lest he attract Medic’s attention.

His sleep was nightmare after nightmare.

He was out on the battlefield in his dreams. A silver wire crossed before his eyes and wrapped around his neck, but there was no one there, no one to fight, no one hurting him. Just a garrotte tight around his throat. He couldn’t get his fingers under it, he couldn’t—

Sniper stepped in close, ignoring the garrotte and putting a hand on Spy’s shoulders, pushing him down to his knees. Spy went willingly. The garrotte had his fingers now too, was hurting them, cutting into them.

Spy tried to ask for help but Sniper commanded him to undo his belt. Spy suddenly realized he was naked, not even wearing his gloves, his fingers bleeding, stuck under the garrotte.

There was another Sniper, with eyes like an animal, with a mouth full of razors, with clawed fingers. He pulled the first Sniper to him and tore out his throat. Spy could do nothing but watch as Sniper ate himself like a fox devours a rabbit, pulling up great pieces of skin and muscle.

Sniper turned to look at him, blood and gore dripping down his face. The garrotte tightened. Spy woke up, sitting up, clawing at his neck, waking to a knock on his door.

He’d slept straight through his alarm and nearly missed the beginning of Wednesday’s battle. BLU Sniper had come to get him with four minutes until battle. He frowned when Spy came out wearing rumpled, clearly slept-in clothes, eyes red, still pulling on his mask. He said nothing, and Spy was grateful.

Things had been strange with BLU for a while now, the Sniper was aware of that. He wasn't one to go prying into other people's business or asking nosey questions, but he was observant by nature.

The temporary disappearance of the enemy Sniper.

Medic and Heavy's constant absence before and after matches around that time.

Medic's death.

The RED Sniper's reappearance.

The new Medic with the unsettling eyes.

Heavy's hatred of him.

And then their Spy's weird behaviour and frequent disappearances at weekends.

The rest of the team had noticed snippets too. Some, like their Medic's death, was a constant, unspoken fear among them all. They didn't dare address it but they couldn't help but think about it. What did a permanent death mean for the rest of the team?

What did any of this mean?

But the BLU Sniper was no gossip. He kept his worries to himself and left the rest of the team to themselves.

 

Spy spent his day on the battlefield hidden away. He didn’t make a single kill or take the intelligence once. He stayed away from the battle, and most of all, the Medic.

The BLU Sniper’s laser sight appeared around him a few times, making small circles. Ordinarily Spy would follow the BLU dot and be led safely through the field, but not today.

He avoided everyone, despite how it would look.

Likewise, Medic spent much of the battle hiding. It was harder for him to do so than Spy though, as the rest of the team needed him constantly. They got more and more frustrated at how often he'd disappear off or be unaccounted for that in the end, Heavy really did punch him.

Vampires might be stronger than the average human, but Heavy was _ not _ the average human and his punches _ hurt. _

Somehow, somehow... the Sniper was no longer feral. Medic had the headshots to prove it from the times his team forced him out into the open.

How?

How was that possible?

Or was there a feral Sniper up there that for some reason still knew how to use a gun?

None of this made any sense, and it scared Medic. Scared him more than near anything had in the many more years alive than he should ever have had.

 

The BLU team lost again, Spy having disappeared and Medic having struggled all day. Afterwards, Spy retreated to his room again, only emerging after he was sure everyone was asleep. He showered and ate, then froze up when he thought about leaving. What if he ran into Medic on his way back in the morning? What if he couldn’t bring himself to leave Sniper? ...what if Sniper didn’t want to see him?

He went cautiously back to his room, listening intently as he went for anyone who might be awake.

The Medic avoided Spy too. But underneath all his worry, questions lurked, and he'd never been good at leaving questions unanswered.

There was a part of him, a tiny part, that _ almost _ felt bad about what he'd done, but if he'd analysed that feeling deeply enough, he would have found its roots in how badly things had gone because of his poor choices, not because of the poor choices themselves.

But it was enough to leave him with no idea how to approach the Spy. He decided to stay away from him as much as possible. Which worked until he walked into the kitchen the next morning, far earlier than he'd expected anyone else to be awake, and looked up to find Spy was in there already.

Spy froze. He’d woken early from a nightmare and presumed the kitchen would be empty; safe for him to go out and get some breakfast. The instinct to cloak was strong, but he felt as though he couldn’t move at first. He turned his back to the vampire, not daring to make eye contact.

Uncertainty gripped Medic for a moment, only to be replaced with annoyance. It was at his own reaction, at the Spy's presence, and at the fact Spy has turned his back on him.

Medic clenched his fists. He wasn't going to turn around and leave.

Wanting to upset the Spy, to unsettle him, Medic moved close, pretending to search the fridge while using his proximity as a weapon.

He made sure to keep an eye on the Spy though. That death by garrotte was still fresh in his mind.

 

Spy flinched as Medic drew close, memories flooding in. He quickly turned and left, too anxious to stay anywhere near the Medic. He was shaking, unsteady. He hadn’t had a chance to actually get any breakfast.

Medic watched him go and decided whether or not to count this as a victory. His prey knew what he was now and had already proved it could bite back when cornered.

He might have to pick another team member at this rate, or possibly live off the blood he could obtain in bags thanks to his role as the team doctor, though he didn't like the sound of that idea.

Spy stayed in his room until that day’s battle, trying to calm his shaking hands.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to update this two days ago please forgive me.

Sniper woke up to a feeling of overwhelming anxiety. It took his tired mind a moment to trace it back to its source. When it did, he stilled, just letting recent events sink in.

Anger grew in anxiety's wake. So much anger, it made his hands shake.

He was going to find that Medic today. He was going to find him.

Spy was determined to do the exact opposite. His was another day spent hiding and running.

The Medic, in turn,  tried to stay out of the Sniper’s range, using the BLU Heavy as a shield as much as possible. The Heavy was not pleased with his performance.

To the rest of his team, Sniper seemed as calm and collected as normal, but under the surface, he'd honed his rage into something he could use as a weapon. He used it to keep alert, to keep him focused, to keep him still and poised and ready to strike when the moment came. He was a Sniper. Waiting was all part of the job.

So he watched, and waited, and kept his anger alive, until his finally spotted the enemy Medic and Heavy on the wrong side of the map, cut-off from the other BLUs.

Then he shot the Heavy.

Medic quailed a little when his protector disappeared into respawn. Now he was alone, in enemy territory, knowing that the Sniper, the feral, knew exactly where he was, and that he was alone. He felt a surge of anger at being made afraid of the young upstart. He’d beaten him several times already. He could do it again.

As long as he wasn’t feral.

Sniper's hands had been steady before but they were shaking now. The Medic had ducked out of sight. Sniper couldn't shoot him.

Sniper swung his rifle from his shoulder and leant it against the window frame. He jumped to his feet, but this time he grabbed his SMG before running off to face the Medic.

Shooting him might be seen as cowardly, but Sniper had let animal instinct rule him when facing Medic in the past. This time he would go properly armed. This time he would face the Medic on his own grounds. This time he would win.

Medic wove through the empty and bullet-riddled buildings, looking for his team, for anyone other than the Sniper. He could sense the other vampire coming like a prickle down his neck. He couldn’t find anyone but the one he was trying to avoid.

Sniper had been here far longer than the Medic. He knew his way around the maze of a battlefield, and he knew exactly where Medic would try and escape through.

By the time Medic got there, Sniper was already waiting.

Medic froze. Sniper was not feral. He looked completely normal again. How was that possible? “ ...What  _ are  _ you?”

 

Sniper stood, stance loose and SMG held casually at his side. When he smiled, there was no flash of fangs. Acting like a vampire hadn't helped him, and turning feral had made him kill Spy. It was time to approach this as humanly as possible.

And humans could be vicious.

'I'm a vampire who can go feral when the situation calls for it,' Sniper said. 'I don't like doing much, so I held off on it as long as I could. Then you forced my hand.'

A lie, but a frightening and believable one.

Medic would never have believed him if he hadn’t seen it himself. He had imagined that maybe respawn had gotten the Sniper from feral back to normal.

He bared his fangs but he didn’t want to fight this time. He also didn’t want to run, to show his weakness. He still had the Sniper’s Spy trapped on base with him; he had the upper hand there.

As though reading his mind, Sniper said. 'You've been hurting my mate. I've warned you off but you've kept going for him, despite the warnings. If you do it again, I will have you removed from respawn. Ask Spy. He can tell you about how we did it to your predecessor.'

Or at least, Sniper was sure he could rely on Spy to tell a convincing lie.

He tapped the SMG casually against his leg as he talked as a subtle reminder of how vulnerable the Medic was right now.

Medic went pale. He’d wondered what had happened to the Medic before him, he’d left so much behind and unfinished... he had to have left by surprise or, or had been killed.

“I—I—” he wasn’t even sure what he could threaten at this point. “Fine. Fine! Stay away from me and I’ll leave Spy be.”

'Glad we could come to an agreement,' Sniper said levelly, while inside he was in shock. That had worked? That had actually worked? He didn't trust the Medic not to go back on his word at a later date, but this was still a nice surprise.

'I'll even throw a little favour for you into the bargain and get you back to your team extra quick,' Sniper said, raising the SMG.

Medic gritted his teeth. He could try and run but he’d never make it. He might as well power through it and let Sniper kill him. That would seem stronger than running.

Sniper didn't care what felt stronger to the Medic, he was just happy to shoot the guy.

He made it a nice, clean shot, despite all the Medic had done to him and Spy.

He was, after all, a professional.

 

It was a little later in that match that Sniper turned a corner and found himself face-to-face with the enemy Heavy. He ducked back around the corner, heart hammering in his chest. Then an idea occurred to him.

The thought of approaching the Heavy filled him with dread. Partly because of that minigun, partly because... because he'd been there. He'd seen Sniper as a shivering, starving, naked creature. He'd seen Sniper at his lowest. And he's done nothing to try and help him.

Sniper took a deep breath, and forced himself to move back into view, hands raised in surrender. 'Don't shoot!' he said.

Heavy would have laughed if it had been anyone else, but this Sniper... he felt wave after wave of conflicting emotions; guilt, rage, fear, disgust, both at the creature and himself for allowing everything that had happened.

“Speak quickly,” he growled.

 

Sniper opened his mouth but no sound came out. He swallowed hard and forced out, 'Your Medic. Your new Medic. He's like me.'

Heavy’s eyes narrowed. For all that people said on both sides of the war, he was not the stupid man some took him to be. He knew exactly what the Sniper meant. “Why betray your own?” he asked.

'He's not my “own” Sniper blurted out. 'He's a monster.' Sniper hesitated, realising what the Heavy would probably think to that statement. 'He's a real monster,' he said, much more quietly.

“What do you want me to do? We have respawn.” Heavy’s arms were starting to ache the way he was holding his minigun and he shifted, rolling his shoulder.

'I just...I just thought someone should know,' Sniper said, questioning now what he'd expected to happen here himself. 'Your new Medic, he's... he's what you feared I might be. He's a danger to everyone, your team included. Might sound dumb saying that here, where we kill each other every day, but he means even his own team harm. Thought I should at least warn you.'

Heavy stared at him a moment longer, nodded emphatically, and headed back out to the battle. He’d known there was something wrong with their Medic. It wasn’t often a man put Heavy on edge, but this one always had him angry.

And again, he felt sure that BLU Spy was somehow a part of this.

As soon as Heavy headed out of the door, Sniper realised he hadn't warned him not to look the Medic in the eye if he ever confronted him. But by then it was too late, the BLU Pyro had already met up with him outside.

Sniper slunk away to avoid getting burnt to death.

As his heart rate gradually slowed back down to normal, Sniper decided he'd done the right thing. The enemy Medic deserved all the enemies he could get.

 

The weekend came agonizingly slowly. Work was impossible to focus on. BLU lost the rest of the battles that week, both Spy and Medic falling short.

Spy spent every night much the same as the first; in turmoil, living nightmare after nightmare. He ate even less than usual, only coming out of his room when he had to. When he was sure Medic wouldn’t be there.

The memories replayed again and again, like a film he couldn’t turn off. It made him angry with himself, with Medic, with everything.

More than that it made him feel disgusted. Disgusting. How could Sniper ever look at him the same again?

Maybe he should just end this. There was so much that Spy worried about. Sniper never seeing him the same way again. Whether anyone could really love him, or even truly know him. Spy was great at manipulating people, even when he didn’t mean to. Sniper knew so little about him, and he knew so little about Sniper. Would they ever know each other?

And what would happen with Medic? God, this was all such a fucking mess.

But if he left, Sniper would only blame himself.

Fuck.

Friday night he agonized over leaving to see Sniper. He couldn’t make himself get out of bed. Instead he curled up in a little ball of self pity and guilt. He slept fitfully, drawn into a nightmare.

He was in the infirmary. There was blood on the floor, and he followed the wide trail of it to that door in the back, the one Sniper had been behind for that terrible week. Sniper was there, muzzled and cut open on the operating table, with both BLU Medics standing over him, pulling him apart with scalpels and bonesaws.

Spy shouted for them to stop, but those eyes turned on him, words pressing into him, ‘come here’, ‘watch’, and he did, standing next to Sniper helplessly as they tore him to pieces, eyes locked with Sniper’s.

Spy woke up on the floor, face wet with tears.

 

On saturday morning he could hear his teammates in the hallway and every time he thought he could manage to leave, someone would pass by and he’d be struck with terror again. It was Medic, he was coming to finish what he’d started. He argued with himself each time, but his anxiety won and he spent the whole day in his room, sleepless and anxious.

Saturday night he forced himself up and out, closing the door to his room and practically bolting outside. No one had been in the hallway for hours but part of him was still sure that he’d run into Medic.

There was no one.

Outside, he hesitated. Did he really want to see Sniper?

Yes.

...no.

He wanted to curl up with him and feel safe. He wanted to comfort Sniper, let him know he wasn’t feral, wasn’t the monster he was afraid of becoming.

But he didn’t want Sniper’s pity. Spy forced himself to move away from his base, more out of fear of Medic than of wanting to see Sniper.

What if he never wanted Sniper to touch him again? What if he was like this forever? 

Spy began to shut everything away, piece by piece, building up a collected facade. He took a deep breath.

Sniper needed him. He couldn’t fall apart. He’d taken enough time being weak and fearful. He was fine.

He was fine.

He made it to Sniper’s door and knocked.

He was fine.

 

Spy looked terrible.

As soon as Sniper opened his campervan door, he could see that. He ushered Spy inside, away from prying eyes and immediately wrapped him up in warm hug. He made sure not to hold Spy too tightly, despite wanting to hold him as close as possible. Given the state he looked to be in and a spy's general slippery nature, it was probably best to give him an easy escape if needed.

'It's been a long week,' he murmured. A safe comment that expressed a fraction of how he felt, while also giving Spy another escape if he didn't want to talk about it.

A long week. That was an understatement. Spy felt all sorts of emotions well up as Sniper wrapped him in his arms. Love, guilt, sadness.

“Sorry I’m so late,” he said, pressing close to his Sniper. He’d missed him more than he’d realized.

'That's alright,' Sniper said simply, not wanting to tell Spy how anxiously he'd been waiting. He might be a patient man, but that didn't stop him from worrying.

He wasn't sure where to go from there.

 

Spy sat on the edge of the bed, pulling Sniper down with him. “I’ve missed you.” His voice was soft.

Sniper let himself be pulled down, forcing himself to relax despite how wound-up and concerned he felt. It looked as though this week had been hell for Spy.

'Me too,' he managed, having never been very good at the sentimental stuff.

Spy was at a complete loss, not sure what to do, what to say. He leaned in to Sniper and rested his head on his chest.

Sniper didn't want to mention  _ him _ right now, but he had to tell Spy.

'Me going feral...it's scared the fuck out of the Medic. I caught him earlier in the week, lied and said I could turn feral and back whenever I like. Got him to promise he'll leave us alone. No idea if it'll work, but...' he trailed off, trying to not feel just a little bit hopeful, but failing.

Spy nodded. “That’s incredible. Very clever,” he praised with a slight smile, “He... I saw him once in the kitchen and not since.”

He was fairly sure he hadn’t been caught by the other vampire; he hadn’t had any fantasies about Sniper. All his imagination had done this week had been to torment him.

Sniper was worried himself that Spy might have had other encounters with the Medic he couldn't remember, but thought it best not to mention that.

'I, uh, may have told your Heavy too,' he said. Best to keep Spy in the loop. Still, he also chose not to say what an unsettling encounter that had been for him.

Spy nodded, but couldn’t help his frown. Sniper seeing Heavy again, speaking to Heavy, had surely been difficult.

'Spy, what do you, you know, want to do?' Sniper asked awkwardly, unsure of where their evening would progress from here, or, in fact, if it would progress at all. This might just be a flying visit to check he was okay.

 

“I want to stay tonight.” He thought about it for a moment. “I want you to bite me.” The idea of being thoughtless, free of all his worries, was like a siren song.

Sniper nodded. He wanted that. He wanted to re-affirm their bond. No, more than that. He wanted to forge them together and prove to all who might doubt them that they belonged to one another. Sniper cupped Spy's chin and pressed a careful kiss against his lips.

Spy couldn’t help but breathe a soft sigh of relief. He’d been terrified that no matter how gentle Sniper was, he might flinch away. Neither of them needed that. He kissed back, tenderly, his own hand sliding to Sniper’s neck.

Sniper kept the kiss light but not teasing. As much as kissing Spy woke two kinds of hunger in him, Spy felt like something delicate to him right now. The same man he loved, but made from glass.

This reminded him all too much of how he'd been after the torture. Of how Spy had treated him. Of how desperately he'd wanted to regain his self-confidence and masculinity because as much as his partner's love and support had meant to him, he hadn't wanted to be seen as weak. As lesser.

So he wanted to be careful here. He needed to support Spy, to give him what he wanted, what he needed. But not to baby him.

He pulled away slowly and reached up to take Spy's mask off, pausing to wait for permission.

Spy closed his eyes into the kiss, enjoying it. He nodded as Sniper reached for his mask, letting him pull it off before smoothing out his wild hair. It took him a second to remember exactly what they were after. He tilted his head at that familiar angle, looking up at Sniper.

Sniper gave him a crooked smile, showing sharp teeth. Spy didn't looks as bad without the mask on. Somehow it had framed and highlighted just how tired his eyes looked.

He tugged Spy towards the bed and sat down, eager to bite him. Just a little nip, Just a little venom and blood.

Spy wrapped his arms around Sniper's neck, body relaxing as he was held. He shut his eyes. He loved the way Sniper held him, how he smelled. He felt so much better here, now that he was here. He wished he'd left earlier, been able to spend more time with him.

Sniper was always careful with his bites. Well, when he wasn't feral. And apart from that one time. But whenever he was in the fit mental state to do so, he was gentle. Never more so than this time. It hurt, after all. But they both knew it would be worth it.

Sniper considered, and then decided to release a little more venom than usual. Not as much as the first time, not enough to leave Spy limp and unresponsive, but enough to get them back on track with their bonding. Sniper hoped. He was getting better with these things but he was still learning and there was so much he didn't know about being a proper vampire. And boyfriend.

The first bite barely hurt, just that quick pop of fangs through his skin. Then came the venom and Spy’s muscles relaxed. He took a slow, shaky breath. God, he’d missed this. Last time he’d gotten bitten they’d been so drunk. It was much better this time.

“Missed this,” he admitted, laying back on the bed once Sniper carefully pulled his fangs free. He held out his arms for his lover to join him.

He was euphoric, blissful, empty of all the fear and stress of the last week. It was amazing, how much better he felt, how whole this made him feel. And Sniper’s skin against his only made it better. If only he had the energy to undress.

Sniper only took a little blood. Not enough to really satisfy, but this wasn't about him, it was about Spy. And Spy looked pale enough as it was. Besides, Sniper still had a couple of spare blood bags in case of emergency, though he didn't need to slip nearly as many past his team's Medic as he once had.

'Missed it too,' Sniper admitted after licking a stripe up Spy's neck.

Look at the two of them. Couple of middle-aged saps. Sniper was happy to be whatever Spy needed right now though. He'd been through enough recently to deserve that.

Sniper settled down on the bed next to Spy and ran his fingers through Spy's hair.

Spy nuzzled into Sniper’s neck with a soft sigh. “Love you.”

_ “I love you.” _

'Yeah,' Sniper said, trying to parse his emotional reaction to this statement. 'Me too,' he added, once the cogs managed to turn a little further.

Spy was tired, still, even after sleeping so much this past week. He hated to waste his time with Sniper sleeping, but it felt like he wouldn’t be awake much longer. Sniper stumbled over his ‘I love you’, but Spy could understand why.

Sniper wrapped an arm around Spy loosely, hoping the weight would bring comfort, not smother him.

'I think things will get better now,' he said hesitantly. He didn't want to curse it, but at the same time, Sniper really felt like he meant it.

They had a lot of recovering to do, both of them, but Sniper knew they could do it. Soon they would be bonded together truly, and then nothing would be able to stand before them.

 

No longer the confident bully he once was, Medic retreated from his team and spent much of his time alone. He felt the fear of Sniper every time they had a match, and lately, Heavy seemed even more hostile than ever before. His scores suffered badly.

He stayed away from the BLU Spy, as tempting as he was. He wouldn’t risk Sniper’s wrath, and even Spy’s revenge had been terrible. He began to subsist on bagged blood, too nervous even to make another human his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also this is the second to last chapter before the epilogue o.o How did this happen?


	14. Chapter 14

_ One Thursday evening, several months later, it all comes to an end. Without a bang, or even a whimper, the whole war implodes. _

_ Blutarch Mann dies for the last time, choked to death by a carrot in his vegetable and chicken soup. Or maybe it's Redmond who dies. No one seems to know and no one really cares. All that matters is that without warning, both teams are cut loose. They have no jobs. No responsibilities. No war to win. Some flounder. Some, like the BLU Medic, slink away. Some take a long time to processes that this is it, the war's finally over. _

_ RED Sniper and BLU Spy feel their shared elation thrum between them even though they are in separate bases when they receive the news. This is it. This is the clean break they've wanted for so long. The chance to move on from this wretched place. To start again somewhere new, side by side. No more facing each other on the battlefield. No more feeling their partner's death through their new bond each and every time. No more having to kill each other. _

_ They are free. _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more short fic will follow to conclude the series, in which we'll share where Sniper and Spy go next and explore the new bond between them.


End file.
